Battle for midfield places hots up as Albion sign Dutchman Holla

ALBION have further intensified the fight for midfield places by signing Dutchman Danny Holla on a three-year deal.

The club announced the capture of Holla, 26, yesterday morning after he watched Saturday's 1-0 defeat at Birmingham.

The free agent has linked up with the squad at their St George's Park based ahead of tomorrow night's game at Leeds.

Holla, described by manager Sami Hyypia as a "deep-lying" midfielder, has been without a club during pre-season after parting company with Den Haag, so his fitness will be assessed before a decision is made on his involvement in the match at Elland Road.

They also have Dale Stephens, sidelined since April by ankle ligament damage, and Andrew Crofts who is available after suspension for Saturday's home game against Bolton.

Holla brings much-needed experience to Hyypia's midfield options. His arrival could, depending how he is used, have implications for Toko - signed before Hyypia was appointed - Ince and for the future at the club of fellow Dutchman Agustien.

Hyypia said: "Danny is a player who has plenty of top-flight experience in Holland with more than 200 senior appearances, and that experience is something we need.

"He is a deep-lying midfielder and the scouting reports I have seen on him show he likes to get on the ball, pass it and dictate the play – and I hope he can bring that to the team.

"He's not been with a club during pre-season, so will we need to assess where is in terms of his match fitness, but hopefully we can get him up to speed and ready to go."

Holla began his career at FC Groningen in the youth set-up and spent six years with them as a pro.

He also had loan spells with FC Zwolle and VV-Venlo before moving to Den Haag two years ago and has scored 39 goals in 212 career appearances.

That's the problem bringing in players so late in the day. They will need a few weeks to bed in, get fit, and be fully assessed by Sammi and by that time we will be 7 or 8 games into the season. We really need these new faces to hit the ground running or we'll be playing catch up for weeks.

That's the problem bringing in players so late in the day. They will need a few weeks to bed in, get fit, and be fully assessed by Sammi and by that time we will be 7 or 8 games into the season. We really need these new faces to hit the ground running or we'll be playing catch up for weeks.arc12

Just one thing I noticed yesterday was that DH had the option to stay at Den Hag but it was his choice to move on for a new challenge plus he was their captain so sounds decent to me. Fingers crossed hey

UTA

Just one thing I noticed yesterday was that DH had the option to stay at Den Hag but it was his choice to move on for a new challenge plus he was their captain so sounds decent to me. Fingers crossed hey
UTAAlbion fan in London

arc12 wrote:
That's the problem bringing in players so late in the day. They will need a few weeks to bed in, get fit, and be fully assessed by Sammi and by that time we will be 7 or 8 games into the season. We really need these new faces to hit the ground running or we'll be playing catch up for weeks.

Spot on! Our transfer policy has left us adrift of the pace for the start of the season. My concern now is where we will find a 'quality' striker who is available? Anyone of any quality would logically be already signed and sealed by now leaving us the rejects 😐

[quote][p][bold]arc12[/bold] wrote:
That's the problem bringing in players so late in the day. They will need a few weeks to bed in, get fit, and be fully assessed by Sammi and by that time we will be 7 or 8 games into the season. We really need these new faces to hit the ground running or we'll be playing catch up for weeks.[/p][/quote]Spot on! Our transfer policy has left us adrift of the pace for the start of the season. My concern now is where we will find a 'quality' striker who is available? Anyone of any quality would logically be already signed and sealed by now leaving us the rejects 😐MHubbs

arc12 wrote:
That's the problem bringing in players so late in the day. They will need a few weeks to bed in, get fit, and be fully assessed by Sammi and by that time we will be 7 or 8 games into the season. We really need these new faces to hit the ground running or we'll be playing catch up for weeks.

Spot on! Our transfer policy has left us adrift of the pace for the start of the season. My concern now is where we will find a 'quality' striker who is available? Anyone of any quality would logically be already signed and sealed by now leaving us the rejects 😐

Couldn't agree more. Baldock's name keeps getting mentioned on the rumour mill, but would he really be the marquee centre forward the club are see to replace Ulloa? If we want to be challenging at tje right end of the Championship I feel we need to be looking for better quality than him. Fingers crossed they find a quality forward and soon!

[quote][p][bold]MHubbs[/bold] wrote:
[quote][p][bold]arc12[/bold] wrote:
That's the problem bringing in players so late in the day. They will need a few weeks to bed in, get fit, and be fully assessed by Sammi and by that time we will be 7 or 8 games into the season. We really need these new faces to hit the ground running or we'll be playing catch up for weeks.[/p][/quote]Spot on! Our transfer policy has left us adrift of the pace for the start of the season. My concern now is where we will find a 'quality' striker who is available? Anyone of any quality would logically be already signed and sealed by now leaving us the rejects 😐[/p][/quote]Couldn't agree more. Baldock's name keeps getting mentioned on the rumour mill, but would he really be the marquee centre forward the club are see to replace Ulloa? If we want to be challenging at tje right end of the Championship I feel we need to be looking for better quality than him. Fingers crossed they find a quality forward and soon!arc12

rhett butler wrote:
Bit of an imbalance if you ask me, 8 midfielders and er 2 sort of strikers they're obviously harder to find. Though they'll probably. Come from overseas and I bet cheapies!!!!

Hahahaha 2 sort of strikers.. useless the pair..CMS just reminds me of a rabid dog on speed, that we paid a mugs ransom for....to little to late with these signings that nobody else wants...Blackpool is gonna be missing all its donkeys come the end of the transfer window....perhaps we could lone them out to pub teams on a sunday........and i paid how much for my season ticket to watch this..........rant over the soapbox just broke

[quote][p][bold]rhett butler[/bold] wrote:
Bit of an imbalance if you ask me, 8 midfielders and er 2 sort of strikers they're obviously harder to find. Though they'll probably. Come from overseas and I bet cheapies!!!![/p][/quote]Hahahaha 2 sort of strikers.. useless the pair..CMS just reminds me of a rabid dog on speed, that we paid a mugs ransom for....to little to late with these signings that nobody else wants...Blackpool is gonna be missing all its donkeys come the end of the transfer window....perhaps we could lone them out to pub teams on a sunday........and i paid how much for my season ticket to watch this..........rant over the soapbox just brokepaul6391

So we have a lot of hard-working and defensive midfield players and the potential of Teixeira to play an attacking midfielder role.Both Solly and Kaz will need to be fitted in.I'm still hoping the gifted Paddy McCourt will be given his chance.As they say "he offers something different".We are desperate for someone creative behind the strikers.

So we have a lot of hard-working and defensive midfield players and the potential of Teixeira to play an attacking midfielder role.Both Solly and Kaz will need to be fitted in.I'm still hoping the gifted Paddy McCourt will be given his chance.As they say "he offers something different".We are desperate for someone creative behind the strikers.Ellen Street

[quote][p][bold]Ripe seagull.[/bold] wrote:
[quote][p][bold]Singing Seagull, Indonesia[/bold] wrote:
Taxi for Mr Agustien! UTA!![/p][/quote]He'll need one with all his points![/p][/quote]At least he had some points!!Beale32

brighton777 wrote:
Apart from Stockdale are any of these signings our log term targets or just panic loans/buys.

sorry got my doubts at this time about Stockdale. Limited foot movement. Just look at Sheffield Wednesday goal . Good strike yes....BUT....!!
Still need 4 more bodies, panic loans/buys we jus need players.
Have these two improved things, hope so big time!!

[quote][p][bold]brighton777[/bold] wrote:
Apart from Stockdale are any of these signings our log term targets or just panic loans/buys.[/p][/quote]sorry got my doubts at this time about Stockdale. Limited foot movement. Just look at Sheffield Wednesday goal . Good strike yes....BUT....!!
Still need 4 more bodies, panic loans/buys we jus need players.
Have these two improved things, hope so big time!!woodcroft

As I posted yesterday, we really need a big centre forward now as the two currently being used are, IMO, not of the right quality for us to remain in the Championship. Cannot really understand why we have taken on yet another midfielder when the priority must be left back and centre forward

As I posted yesterday, we really need a big centre forward now as the two currently being used are, IMO, not of the right quality for us to remain in the Championship. Cannot really understand why we have taken on yet another midfielder when the priority must be left back and centre forwardKit Napier's Beard

Obviously not a Hyppia signing yet again, quote "The scouting reports I've seen on him".
It appears the remit to be our manager is to have very little input into the new signings.

Why not just put Burke in the dugout as it seems to be his team anyway !

Obviously not a Hyppia signing yet again, quote "The scouting reports I've seen on him".
It appears the remit to be our manager is to have very little input into the new signings.
Why not just put Burke in the dugout as it seems to be his team anyway !elljam

What the hell is wrong with Toko? Clearly looks like he isn't cutting the mustard! Another poor signing?
Where the hell is Stephens?! What the bloody hell has he done to himself?!
Striker wide surely Baldock could do a good job, however I feel we need another quality striker especially as Sami seems keen to player two front men. We can't write off CMS yet though the guy needs to re-discover his scoring touch. He is also capable of assists though, look at his inch perfect ball for Ulloa at Forest? Ahhhh, Ulloa, those were the days!!

What the hell is wrong with Toko? Clearly looks like he isn't cutting the mustard! Another poor signing?
Where the hell is Stephens?! What the bloody hell has he done to himself?!
Striker wide surely Baldock could do a good job, however I feel we need another quality striker especially as Sami seems keen to player two front men. We can't write off CMS yet though the guy needs to re-discover his scoring touch. He is also capable of assists though, look at his inch perfect ball for Ulloa at Forest? Ahhhh, Ulloa, those were the days!!pablobrowno

I am more interested as to why Solly did not make the squad even though he was fully fit on Saturday. That seems to have gone under the radar as neither the Club or the Argus have mentioned it. Is it significant or not?
(I know people have mentioned his agent is pushing for a sale.)

I am more interested as to why Solly did not make the squad even though he was fully fit on Saturday. That seems to have gone under the radar as neither the Club or the Argus have mentioned it. Is it significant or not?
(I know people have mentioned his agent is pushing for a sale.)Claude Back

elljam wrote:
Obviously not a Hyppia signing yet again, quote &quot;The scouting reports I've seen on him".
It appears the remit to be our manager is to have very little input into the new signings.

Why not just put Burke in the dugout as it seems to be his team anyway !

But Tex obviously is a Hyppia signing. Recommendation directly from his mate Gerrard. Nothing to do with Burke.
Agustein and JFC on their way out, I would think. JFC does nothing positive most games. Agustein - well we all know about him.
Yes, I believe this lad turned down a chance to stay at Den Haag to further his career and was prepared to be clubless in the hope that something might happen for him. Seems it has. Hopefully it will work out for all of us. The board will also be ecstatic that he was FREE!

But we need a STRIKER! For Pete's sake there must be one out there who we can afford!? I know I will attract a few thumbs down now - but CMS really hasn't proved himself to be worth £3 million (I believe) since joining. Can someone tell me how many goals he has scored in competitive games during his time here? Not enough, I can tell you. His ratio must be pretty poor. He runs around a lot and looks busy but that's it most of the time.

Are the continuing Baldock rumours true? Not that he would be my first choice by a long way.
Up the Albion!

[quote][p][bold]elljam[/bold] wrote:
Obviously not a Hyppia signing yet again, quote "The scouting reports I've seen on him".
It appears the remit to be our manager is to have very little input into the new signings.
Why not just put Burke in the dugout as it seems to be his team anyway ![/p][/quote]But Tex obviously is a Hyppia signing. Recommendation directly from his mate Gerrard. Nothing to do with Burke.
Agustein and JFC on their way out, I would think. JFC does nothing positive most games. Agustein - well we all know about him.
Yes, I believe this lad turned down a chance to stay at Den Haag to further his career and was prepared to be clubless in the hope that something might happen for him. Seems it has. Hopefully it will work out for all of us. The board will also be ecstatic that he was FREE!
But we need a STRIKER! For Pete's sake there must be one out there who we can afford!? I know I will attract a few thumbs down now - but CMS really hasn't proved himself to be worth £3 million (I believe) since joining. Can someone tell me how many goals he has scored in competitive games during his time here? Not enough, I can tell you. His ratio must be pretty poor. He runs around a lot and looks busy but that's it most of the time.
Are the continuing Baldock rumours true? Not that he would be my first choice by a long way.
Up the Albion!Max Ripple

rhett butler wrote:
Bit of an imbalance if you ask me, 8 midfielders and er 2 sort of strikers they're obviously harder to find. Though they'll probably. Come from overseas and I bet cheapies!!!!

Cheapies can be good ,look at Ulloa £2million was cheap for him & very good business for the club.Depends on a lot of things.

[quote][p][bold]rhett butler[/bold] wrote:
Bit of an imbalance if you ask me, 8 midfielders and er 2 sort of strikers they're obviously harder to find. Though they'll probably. Come from overseas and I bet cheapies!!!![/p][/quote]Cheapies can be good ,look at Ulloa £2million was cheap for him & very good business for the club.Depends on a lot of things.whoppafromswans

elljam wrote:
Obviously not a Hyppia signing yet again, quote &quot;The scouting reports I've seen on him".
It appears the remit to be our manager is to have very little input into the new signings.

Why not just put Burke in the dugout as it seems to be his team anyway !

But Tex obviously is a Hyppia signing. Recommendation directly from his mate Gerrard. Nothing to do with Burke.
Agustein and JFC on their way out, I would think. JFC does nothing positive most games. Agustein - well we all know about him.
Yes, I believe this lad turned down a chance to stay at Den Haag to further his career and was prepared to be clubless in the hope that something might happen for him. Seems it has. Hopefully it will work out for all of us. The board will also be ecstatic that he was FREE!

But we need a STRIKER! For Pete's sake there must be one out there who we can afford!? I know I will attract a few thumbs down now - but CMS really hasn't proved himself to be worth £3 million (I believe) since joining. Can someone tell me how many goals he has scored in competitive games during his time here? Not enough, I can tell you. His ratio must be pretty poor. He runs around a lot and looks busy but that's it most of the time.

Are the continuing Baldock rumours true? Not that he would be my first choice by a long way.
Up the Albion!

Aye, and the question is also are there any decent strikers left in Britain that we could realistically afford? Makes me think that if we get one it will be from the Continent.

[quote][p][bold]Max Ripple[/bold] wrote:
[quote][p][bold]elljam[/bold] wrote:
Obviously not a Hyppia signing yet again, quote "The scouting reports I've seen on him".
It appears the remit to be our manager is to have very little input into the new signings.
Why not just put Burke in the dugout as it seems to be his team anyway ![/p][/quote]But Tex obviously is a Hyppia signing. Recommendation directly from his mate Gerrard. Nothing to do with Burke.
Agustein and JFC on their way out, I would think. JFC does nothing positive most games. Agustein - well we all know about him.
Yes, I believe this lad turned down a chance to stay at Den Haag to further his career and was prepared to be clubless in the hope that something might happen for him. Seems it has. Hopefully it will work out for all of us. The board will also be ecstatic that he was FREE!
But we need a STRIKER! For Pete's sake there must be one out there who we can afford!? I know I will attract a few thumbs down now - but CMS really hasn't proved himself to be worth £3 million (I believe) since joining. Can someone tell me how many goals he has scored in competitive games during his time here? Not enough, I can tell you. His ratio must be pretty poor. He runs around a lot and looks busy but that's it most of the time.
Are the continuing Baldock rumours true? Not that he would be my first choice by a long way.
Up the Albion![/p][/quote]Aye, and the question is also are there any decent strikers left in Britain that we could realistically afford? Makes me think that if we get one it will be from the Continent.Claude Back

Claude Back wrote:
I am more interested as to why Solly did not make the squad even though he was fully fit on Saturday. That seems to have gone under the radar as neither the Club or the Argus have mentioned it. Is it significant or not?
(I know people have mentioned his agent is pushing for a sale.)

Morning, unfortunately I think we all no why March didn't start on Saturday, he will still be wearing a striped shirt but not ours!!
up the Albion!!

[quote][p][bold]Claude Back[/bold] wrote:
I am more interested as to why Solly did not make the squad even though he was fully fit on Saturday. That seems to have gone under the radar as neither the Club or the Argus have mentioned it. Is it significant or not?
(I know people have mentioned his agent is pushing for a sale.)[/p][/quote]Morning, unfortunately I think we all no why March didn't start on Saturday, he will still be wearing a striped shirt but not ours!!
up the Albion!!JeffLomer

I feel i need to just offload my thoughts on the club, so bare with me!

I love to read the comments on the various Argus stories, i agree with a lot, i probably disagree with even more though. Yes, we all love our club. Yes, we all want to win games. Yes, we all want to play in the Premier League. But i look at the bigger picture.

Where is our position in English football? Going back to the last days of the Goldstone, finishing 91st in the League - is this our natural position in the pyramid? The last 3 years - top 10, top 6, top 6 - is this our natural position? Are we a team that has a divine right to fight for top 6 every season, or are we a team that has done well recently, but ultimately should be playing at a lower level?

The answer is, in my opinion, we have no right to expect anything. We, like the vast majority of teams, will suffer many highs and lows, and will be fighting for the same things they are. We more than a lot of teams, have seen both extremes.

I think the problem is that we, for the last 3 years, have been totally spoilt with what we have been given. A fantastic stadium, amazing atmospheres, some great players/teams, exciting football and promotion challenges. And now, we are taking it that this is the norm, and that this is what we expect.

Personally, i have loved the last 3 seasons, but i accept that teams have shelf lives, that finances have to be looked after, and that things change, and not always for the better.

I will go to every game, hoping that we win and climb the table, supporting the 11 on the pitch, and just enjoying myself - because that is what it's about ultimately.

I feel i need to just offload my thoughts on the club, so bare with me!
I love to read the comments on the various Argus stories, i agree with a lot, i probably disagree with even more though. Yes, we all love our club. Yes, we all want to win games. Yes, we all want to play in the Premier League. But i look at the bigger picture.
Where is our position in English football? Going back to the last days of the Goldstone, finishing 91st in the League - is this our natural position in the pyramid? The last 3 years - top 10, top 6, top 6 - is this our natural position? Are we a team that has a divine right to fight for top 6 every season, or are we a team that has done well recently, but ultimately should be playing at a lower level?
The answer is, in my opinion, we have no right to expect anything. We, like the vast majority of teams, will suffer many highs and lows, and will be fighting for the same things they are. We more than a lot of teams, have seen both extremes.
I think the problem is that we, for the last 3 years, have been totally spoilt with what we have been given. A fantastic stadium, amazing atmospheres, some great players/teams, exciting football and promotion challenges. And now, we are taking it that this is the norm, and that this is what we expect.
Personally, i have loved the last 3 seasons, but i accept that teams have shelf lives, that finances have to be looked after, and that things change, and not always for the better.
I will go to every game, hoping that we win and climb the table, supporting the 11 on the pitch, and just enjoying myself - because that is what it's about ultimately.DuncanThickett

arc12 wrote:
That's the problem bringing in players so late in the day. They will need a few weeks to bed in, get fit, and be fully assessed by Sammi and by that time we will be 7 or 8 games into the season. We really need these new faces to hit the ground running or we'll be playing catch up for weeks.

Spot on! Our transfer policy has left us adrift of the pace for the start of the season. My concern now is where we will find a 'quality' striker who is available? Anyone of any quality would logically be already signed and sealed by now leaving us the rejects 😐

mr Burke is currently at the dhss office walking up and down the line to see if anyone is wearing a number 9 shirt.
fingers crossed

[quote][p][bold]MHubbs[/bold] wrote:
[quote][p][bold]arc12[/bold] wrote:
That's the problem bringing in players so late in the day. They will need a few weeks to bed in, get fit, and be fully assessed by Sammi and by that time we will be 7 or 8 games into the season. We really need these new faces to hit the ground running or we'll be playing catch up for weeks.[/p][/quote]Spot on! Our transfer policy has left us adrift of the pace for the start of the season. My concern now is where we will find a 'quality' striker who is available? Anyone of any quality would logically be already signed and sealed by now leaving us the rejects 😐[/p][/quote]mr Burke is currently at the dhss office walking up and down the line to see if anyone is wearing a number 9 shirt.
fingers crossedThe lev

not a bad call yes and it would be pun t but need must.
alternatively It is the continent but that should not give us a problem.

[quote][p][bold]rhett butler[/bold] wrote:
Could we take a punt on tom pope at Vale?[/p][/quote]not a bad call yes and it would be pun t but need must.
alternatively It is the continent but that should not give us a problem.woodcroft

Claude Back wrote:
I am more interested as to why Solly did not make the squad even though he was fully fit on Saturday. That seems to have gone under the radar as neither the Club or the Argus have mentioned it. Is it significant or not?
(I know people have mentioned his agent is pushing for a sale.)

I was under the impression that March was still injured.

[quote][p][bold]Claude Back[/bold] wrote:
I am more interested as to why Solly did not make the squad even though he was fully fit on Saturday. That seems to have gone under the radar as neither the Club or the Argus have mentioned it. Is it significant or not?
(I know people have mentioned his agent is pushing for a sale.)[/p][/quote]I was under the impression that March was still injured.ballantrrae

elljam wrote:
Obviously not a Hyppia signing yet again, quote &quot;The scouting reports I've seen on him".
It appears the remit to be our manager is to have very little input into the new signings.

Why not just put Burke in the dugout as it seems to be his team anyway !

But Tex obviously is a Hyppia signing. Recommendation directly from his mate Gerrard. Nothing to do with Burke.
Agustein and JFC on their way out, I would think. JFC does nothing positive most games. Agustein - well we all know about him.
Yes, I believe this lad turned down a chance to stay at Den Haag to further his career and was prepared to be clubless in the hope that something might happen for him. Seems it has. Hopefully it will work out for all of us. The board will also be ecstatic that he was FREE!

But we need a STRIKER! For Pete's sake there must be one out there who we can afford!? I know I will attract a few thumbs down now - but CMS really hasn't proved himself to be worth £3 million (I believe) since joining. Can someone tell me how many goals he has scored in competitive games during his time here? Not enough, I can tell you. His ratio must be pretty poor. He runs around a lot and looks busy but that's it most of the time.

Are the continuing Baldock rumours true? Not that he would be my first choice by a long way.
Up the Albion!

Yes, CMS does run a lot - he tries his heart out and is very good at closing down.
I feel for the guy. He makes so many runs off the shoulder of defenders but we never look up and play him in (apart from Lua Lua last week). It must drive him mad - I know it drives me nuts!

[quote][p][bold]Max Ripple[/bold] wrote:
[quote][p][bold]elljam[/bold] wrote:
Obviously not a Hyppia signing yet again, quote "The scouting reports I've seen on him".
It appears the remit to be our manager is to have very little input into the new signings.
Why not just put Burke in the dugout as it seems to be his team anyway ![/p][/quote]But Tex obviously is a Hyppia signing. Recommendation directly from his mate Gerrard. Nothing to do with Burke.
Agustein and JFC on their way out, I would think. JFC does nothing positive most games. Agustein - well we all know about him.
Yes, I believe this lad turned down a chance to stay at Den Haag to further his career and was prepared to be clubless in the hope that something might happen for him. Seems it has. Hopefully it will work out for all of us. The board will also be ecstatic that he was FREE!
But we need a STRIKER! For Pete's sake there must be one out there who we can afford!? I know I will attract a few thumbs down now - but CMS really hasn't proved himself to be worth £3 million (I believe) since joining. Can someone tell me how many goals he has scored in competitive games during his time here? Not enough, I can tell you. His ratio must be pretty poor. He runs around a lot and looks busy but that's it most of the time.
Are the continuing Baldock rumours true? Not that he would be my first choice by a long way.
Up the Albion![/p][/quote]Yes, CMS does run a lot - he tries his heart out and is very good at closing down.
I feel for the guy. He makes so many runs off the shoulder of defenders but we never look up and play him in (apart from Lua Lua last week). It must drive him mad - I know it drives me nuts!Seagulls Flying

I wonder whether Mr Poyet at Sunderland might want to off load Danny Graham or even let us have Connor Wickham on loan? The other thought is will Glenn Murray make the 25 man cut at Palarse, I assume that he still lives in Brighton and would surely not mss the A23/M23 daily nightmare?

I wonder whether Mr Poyet at Sunderland might want to off load Danny Graham or even let us have Connor Wickham on loan? The other thought is will Glenn Murray make the 25 man cut at Palarse, I assume that he still lives in Brighton and would surely not mss the A23/M23 daily nightmare?Kit Napier's Beard

DuncanThickett wrote:
I feel i need to just offload my thoughts on the club, so bare with me!

I love to read the comments on the various Argus stories, i agree with a lot, i probably disagree with even more though. Yes, we all love our club. Yes, we all want to win games. Yes, we all want to play in the Premier League. But i look at the bigger picture.

Where is our position in English football? Going back to the last days of the Goldstone, finishing 91st in the League - is this our natural position in the pyramid? The last 3 years - top 10, top 6, top 6 - is this our natural position? Are we a team that has a divine right to fight for top 6 every season, or are we a team that has done well recently, but ultimately should be playing at a lower level?

The answer is, in my opinion, we have no right to expect anything. We, like the vast majority of teams, will suffer many highs and lows, and will be fighting for the same things they are. We more than a lot of teams, have seen both extremes.

I think the problem is that we, for the last 3 years, have been totally spoilt with what we have been given. A fantastic stadium, amazing atmospheres, some great players/teams, exciting football and promotion challenges. And now, we are taking it that this is the norm, and that this is what we expect.

Personally, i have loved the last 3 seasons, but i accept that teams have shelf lives, that finances have to be looked after, and that things change, and not always for the better.

I will go to every game, hoping that we win and climb the table, supporting the 11 on the pitch, and just enjoying myself - because that is what it's about ultimately.

Good points Duncan,
the thing is Brighton have gained alot of new fans these last 3 years so they don't know about the Withdean wilderness years and relatively the current offering is a disappointment after the halycon Poyet / Spanish days. You also pay for what you get so with ticket prices now the fans are entitled to some good football and exciting players. I don't blame people for questioning the value for money aspect so unless you are a die hard / all weather fan, many "customers" will re-consider how to spend their money and I'm not ashamed to say I'm in that camp. Football is in the entertainment business.
No team has a right to be where they are, but fans have expectations and hopes, and some teams do re-establish themselves permanently at a different level. We have come close the last few seasons but I think we may have shot our bolt as alot of the players that got us there are either gone or aging, we now need to rebuild a different team.

[quote][p][bold]DuncanThickett[/bold] wrote:
I feel i need to just offload my thoughts on the club, so bare with me!
I love to read the comments on the various Argus stories, i agree with a lot, i probably disagree with even more though. Yes, we all love our club. Yes, we all want to win games. Yes, we all want to play in the Premier League. But i look at the bigger picture.
Where is our position in English football? Going back to the last days of the Goldstone, finishing 91st in the League - is this our natural position in the pyramid? The last 3 years - top 10, top 6, top 6 - is this our natural position? Are we a team that has a divine right to fight for top 6 every season, or are we a team that has done well recently, but ultimately should be playing at a lower level?
The answer is, in my opinion, we have no right to expect anything. We, like the vast majority of teams, will suffer many highs and lows, and will be fighting for the same things they are. We more than a lot of teams, have seen both extremes.
I think the problem is that we, for the last 3 years, have been totally spoilt with what we have been given. A fantastic stadium, amazing atmospheres, some great players/teams, exciting football and promotion challenges. And now, we are taking it that this is the norm, and that this is what we expect.
Personally, i have loved the last 3 seasons, but i accept that teams have shelf lives, that finances have to be looked after, and that things change, and not always for the better.
I will go to every game, hoping that we win and climb the table, supporting the 11 on the pitch, and just enjoying myself - because that is what it's about ultimately.[/p][/quote]Good points Duncan,
the thing is Brighton have gained alot of new fans these last 3 years so they don't know about the Withdean wilderness years and relatively the current offering is a disappointment after the halycon Poyet / Spanish days. You also pay for what you get so with ticket prices now the fans are entitled to some good football and exciting players. I don't blame people for questioning the value for money aspect so unless you are a die hard / all weather fan, many "customers" will re-consider how to spend their money and I'm not ashamed to say I'm in that camp. Football is in the entertainment business.
No team has a right to be where they are, but fans have expectations and hopes, and some teams do re-establish themselves permanently at a different level. We have come close the last few seasons but I think we may have shot our bolt as alot of the players that got us there are either gone or aging, we now need to rebuild a different team.Eddy B

Someone told David Burke that Agustien was fast and dangerous, so he signed him on the spot.

[quote][p][bold]Ripe seagull.[/bold] wrote:
[quote][p][bold]Singing Seagull, Indonesia[/bold] wrote:
Taxi for Mr Agustien! UTA!![/p][/quote]He'll need one with all his points![/p][/quote]Someone told David Burke that Agustien was fast and dangerous, so he signed him on the spot.gordongull

elljam wrote:
Obviously not a Hyppia signing yet again, quote &quot;The scouting reports I've seen on him".
It appears the remit to be our manager is to have very little input into the new signings.

Why not just put Burke in the dugout as it seems to be his team anyway !

But Tex obviously is a Hyppia signing. Recommendation directly from his mate Gerrard. Nothing to do with Burke.
Agustein and JFC on their way out, I would think. JFC does nothing positive most games. Agustein - well we all know about him.
Yes, I believe this lad turned down a chance to stay at Den Haag to further his career and was prepared to be clubless in the hope that something might happen for him. Seems it has. Hopefully it will work out for all of us. The board will also be ecstatic that he was FREE!

But we need a STRIKER! For Pete's sake there must be one out there who we can afford!? I know I will attract a few thumbs down now - but CMS really hasn't proved himself to be worth £3 million (I believe) since joining. Can someone tell me how many goals he has scored in competitive games during his time here? Not enough, I can tell you. His ratio must be pretty poor. He runs around a lot and looks busy but that's it most of the time.

Are the continuing Baldock rumours true? Not that he would be my first choice by a long way.
Up the Albion!

I did notice Hyppia didn't seem to have alot of first hand knowledge of the signings but nevertheless he should be able to rely on his scouts and video evidence etc. There does seem to be a bit of a queue forming in midfield. What does the future hold for Holla, Ince, Toko, JFC , Augestein? Personally I'd like to see Toko & Holla given a fair crack of the whip (and even Augustein - how many games has he actually played?). Surely one in this queue can step up and make the grade at this level and command a regular first team berth.

[quote][p][bold]Max Ripple[/bold] wrote:
[quote][p][bold]elljam[/bold] wrote:
Obviously not a Hyppia signing yet again, quote "The scouting reports I've seen on him".
It appears the remit to be our manager is to have very little input into the new signings.
Why not just put Burke in the dugout as it seems to be his team anyway ![/p][/quote]But Tex obviously is a Hyppia signing. Recommendation directly from his mate Gerrard. Nothing to do with Burke.
Agustein and JFC on their way out, I would think. JFC does nothing positive most games. Agustein - well we all know about him.
Yes, I believe this lad turned down a chance to stay at Den Haag to further his career and was prepared to be clubless in the hope that something might happen for him. Seems it has. Hopefully it will work out for all of us. The board will also be ecstatic that he was FREE!
But we need a STRIKER! For Pete's sake there must be one out there who we can afford!? I know I will attract a few thumbs down now - but CMS really hasn't proved himself to be worth £3 million (I believe) since joining. Can someone tell me how many goals he has scored in competitive games during his time here? Not enough, I can tell you. His ratio must be pretty poor. He runs around a lot and looks busy but that's it most of the time.
Are the continuing Baldock rumours true? Not that he would be my first choice by a long way.
Up the Albion![/p][/quote]I did notice Hyppia didn't seem to have alot of first hand knowledge of the signings but nevertheless he should be able to rely on his scouts and video evidence etc. There does seem to be a bit of a queue forming in midfield. What does the future hold for Holla, Ince, Toko, JFC , Augestein? Personally I'd like to see Toko & Holla given a fair crack of the whip (and even Augustein - how many games has he actually played?). Surely one in this queue can step up and make the grade at this level and command a regular first team berth.Eddy B

elljam wrote:
Obviously not a Hyppia signing yet again, quote &quot;The scouting reports I've seen on him".
It appears the remit to be our manager is to have very little input into the new signings.

Why not just put Burke in the dugout as it seems to be his team anyway !

But Tex obviously is a Hyppia signing. Recommendation directly from his mate Gerrard. Nothing to do with Burke.
Agustein and JFC on their way out, I would think. JFC does nothing positive most games. Agustein - well we all know about him.
Yes, I believe this lad turned down a chance to stay at Den Haag to further his career and was prepared to be clubless in the hope that something might happen for him. Seems it has. Hopefully it will work out for all of us. The board will also be ecstatic that he was FREE!

But we need a STRIKER! For Pete's sake there must be one out there who we can afford!? I know I will attract a few thumbs down now - but CMS really hasn't proved himself to be worth £3 million (I believe) since joining. Can someone tell me how many goals he has scored in competitive games during his time here? Not enough, I can tell you. His ratio must be pretty poor. He runs around a lot and looks busy but that's it most of the time.

Are the continuing Baldock rumours true? Not that he would be my first choice by a long way.
Up the Albion!

Yes, CMS does run a lot - he tries his heart out and is very good at closing down.
I feel for the guy. He makes so many runs off the shoulder of defenders but we never look up and play him in (apart from Lua Lua last week). It must drive him mad - I know it drives me nuts!

Yes. Agreed. I know what you mean about the service aspect of his game and his ability to draw defenders. But he was supposed to be a goalscorer. Maybe he still needs to find the right partner? Not sure about COG yet, jury's out there. I'm not a fan of Murray but he could do the same job as Leo and I thought that Leo and CMS kind of looked a couple (if you get my drift) at the end of last season.

[quote][p][bold]Seagulls Flying[/bold] wrote:
[quote][p][bold]Max Ripple[/bold] wrote:
[quote][p][bold]elljam[/bold] wrote:
Obviously not a Hyppia signing yet again, quote "The scouting reports I've seen on him".
It appears the remit to be our manager is to have very little input into the new signings.
Why not just put Burke in the dugout as it seems to be his team anyway ![/p][/quote]But Tex obviously is a Hyppia signing. Recommendation directly from his mate Gerrard. Nothing to do with Burke.
Agustein and JFC on their way out, I would think. JFC does nothing positive most games. Agustein - well we all know about him.
Yes, I believe this lad turned down a chance to stay at Den Haag to further his career and was prepared to be clubless in the hope that something might happen for him. Seems it has. Hopefully it will work out for all of us. The board will also be ecstatic that he was FREE!
But we need a STRIKER! For Pete's sake there must be one out there who we can afford!? I know I will attract a few thumbs down now - but CMS really hasn't proved himself to be worth £3 million (I believe) since joining. Can someone tell me how many goals he has scored in competitive games during his time here? Not enough, I can tell you. His ratio must be pretty poor. He runs around a lot and looks busy but that's it most of the time.
Are the continuing Baldock rumours true? Not that he would be my first choice by a long way.
Up the Albion![/p][/quote]Yes, CMS does run a lot - he tries his heart out and is very good at closing down.
I feel for the guy. He makes so many runs off the shoulder of defenders but we never look up and play him in (apart from Lua Lua last week). It must drive him mad - I know it drives me nuts![/p][/quote]Yes. Agreed. I know what you mean about the service aspect of his game and his ability to draw defenders. But he was supposed to be a goalscorer. Maybe he still needs to find the right partner? Not sure about COG yet, jury's out there. I'm not a fan of Murray but he could do the same job as Leo and I thought that Leo and CMS kind of looked a couple (if you get my drift) at the end of last season.Max Ripple

This guy is clearly an alternative to Clayton after we failed with him and I believe anyone we sign before the end of the month will fall into the same category.
It seems we've refused to pay top dollar to secure primary targets early in the summer - Ward is another example - and now we're filling up from the sales shelf.
I have no idea if Holla is any good and I sincerely hope he is, but IMO he wouldn't be here if we'd done the business on Clayton. The basic necessities should have been secured far earlier than this and we still need at least two. I'm not optimistic they'll be marquee signings and I just pray SH can mould a squad from what he's (clearly) bring given. But even that exercise should've been started weeks ago with a settled, basic squad.

This guy is clearly an alternative to Clayton after we failed with him and I believe anyone we sign before the end of the month will fall into the same category.
It seems we've refused to pay top dollar to secure primary targets early in the summer - Ward is another example - and now we're filling up from the sales shelf.
I have no idea if Holla is any good and I sincerely hope he is, but IMO he wouldn't be here if we'd done the business on Clayton. The basic necessities should have been secured far earlier than this and we still need at least two. I'm not optimistic they'll be marquee signings and I just pray SH can mould a squad from what he's (clearly) bring given. But even that exercise should've been started weeks ago with a settled, basic squad.Albion In Staffs

Should have tried to get Eddie Howe after Gus left.Best manager by far outside the PL.Knows all about the Championship and lower leagues.Would not surprise if Bournemouth end up in the top six in May.

[quote][p][bold]oldsolariun[/bold] wrote:
Quality is the answer ,not loans journeymen and poor freebies...
Bournemouth sold prolific striker Lewis Grabban but Eddie Howe has
invested in quality rather than quantity with free transfers Dan Gosling (Newcastle) and Junior Stanislas (Burnley) plus big-money signing Callum Wilson (Coventry) who cost in excess of £2million .....
Already SIX points and FIVE goal ahead of the Albion ....[/p][/quote]Should have tried to get Eddie Howe after Gus left.Best manager by far outside the PL.Knows all about the Championship and lower leagues.Would not surprise if Bournemouth end up in the top six in May.SeagullOverSelsey

Should have tried to get Eddie Howe after Gus left.Best manager by far outside the PL.Knows all about the Championship and lower leagues.Would not surprise if Bournemouth end up in the top six in May.

shouldawouldacoulda.
..
If you look at their summer business, Eddie Howe is managing a solid squad that was replenished early with clearly targeted and swiftly secured signings. So he's enjoying a better environment to work in than our guy.
He may well prove to be successful this season, but I'm not convinced he'd be in the same position if he was in charge of our lot. That's the reason I'm not an early critic of SH.

[quote][p][bold]SeagullOverSelsey[/bold] wrote:
[quote][p][bold]oldsolariun[/bold] wrote:
Quality is the answer ,not loans journeymen and poor freebies...
Bournemouth sold prolific striker Lewis Grabban but Eddie Howe has
invested in quality rather than quantity with free transfers Dan Gosling (Newcastle) and Junior Stanislas (Burnley) plus big-money signing Callum Wilson (Coventry) who cost in excess of £2million .....
Already SIX points and FIVE goal ahead of the Albion ....[/p][/quote]Should have tried to get Eddie Howe after Gus left.Best manager by far outside the PL.Knows all about the Championship and lower leagues.Would not surprise if Bournemouth end up in the top six in May.[/p][/quote]shouldawouldacoulda.
..
If you look at their summer business, Eddie Howe is managing a solid squad that was replenished early with clearly targeted and swiftly secured signings. So he's enjoying a better environment to work in than our guy.
He may well prove to be successful this season, but I'm not convinced he'd be in the same position if he was in charge of our lot. That's the reason I'm not an early critic of SH.Albion In Staffs

Given that Brighton are certainly three players short, and some might say we need as many as five, I think Bloom might have done well to pick out the closing of the loan window as the time when our gaps will have been plugged, rather than the closing of the buy or sell window.

Hyypia needs another striker, and so do other managers in our division, so if we are looking to buy rather than borrow, we could be talking some big numbers to ensure we win any bidding war that may occur. Brighton have not shown any appetite to spend big, and if that continues, then it seems that our striker will be a loan deal. We could do yet another loan deal with Liverpool, their 21 year old Adorjan is still considered an exciting prospect.

The left back position has beem filled, in recent times, by loanees and again if a decent player were to become available we could also be in a bidding war, so just as the last two seasons have shown, this could be another loanee.

With Buckley gone I guess we will be looking for a replacement, another loanee? This is one position where I would not be surprised if we buy rather than borrow. Other clubs in our division, for the most part, seem to have filled their needs in this area of the park, and we have the money to compete for a signature if we are not trying to fight off a club with parachute payments.

Given that Brighton are certainly three players short, and some might say we need as many as five, I think Bloom might have done well to pick out the closing of the loan window as the time when our gaps will have been plugged, rather than the closing of the buy or sell window.
Hyypia needs another striker, and so do other managers in our division, so if we are looking to buy rather than borrow, we could be talking some big numbers to ensure we win any bidding war that may occur. Brighton have not shown any appetite to spend big, and if that continues, then it seems that our striker will be a loan deal. We could do yet another loan deal with Liverpool, their 21 year old Adorjan is still considered an exciting prospect.
The left back position has beem filled, in recent times, by loanees and again if a decent player were to become available we could also be in a bidding war, so just as the last two seasons have shown, this could be another loanee.
With Buckley gone I guess we will be looking for a replacement, another loanee? This is one position where I would not be surprised if we buy rather than borrow. Other clubs in our division, for the most part, seem to have filled their needs in this area of the park, and we have the money to compete for a signature if we are not trying to fight off a club with parachute payments.VegasSeagull

DuncanThickett wrote:
I feel i need to just offload my thoughts on the club, so bare with me!

I love to read the comments on the various Argus stories, i agree with a lot, i probably disagree with even more though. Yes, we all love our club. Yes, we all want to win games. Yes, we all want to play in the Premier League. But i look at the bigger picture.

Where is our position in English football? Going back to the last days of the Goldstone, finishing 91st in the League - is this our natural position in the pyramid? The last 3 years - top 10, top 6, top 6 - is this our natural position? Are we a team that has a divine right to fight for top 6 every season, or are we a team that has done well recently, but ultimately should be playing at a lower level?

The answer is, in my opinion, we have no right to expect anything. We, like the vast majority of teams, will suffer many highs and lows, and will be fighting for the same things they are. We more than a lot of teams, have seen both extremes.

I think the problem is that we, for the last 3 years, have been totally spoilt with what we have been given. A fantastic stadium, amazing atmospheres, some great players/teams, exciting football and promotion challenges. And now, we are taking it that this is the norm, and that this is what we expect.

Personally, i have loved the last 3 seasons, but i accept that teams have shelf lives, that finances have to be looked after, and that things change, and not always for the better.

I will go to every game, hoping that we win and climb the table, supporting the 11 on the pitch, and just enjoying myself - because that is what it's about ultimately.

Good points Duncan,
the thing is Brighton have gained alot of new fans these last 3 years so they don't know about the Withdean wilderness years and relatively the current offering is a disappointment after the halycon Poyet / Spanish days. You also pay for what you get so with ticket prices now the fans are entitled to some good football and exciting players. I don't blame people for questioning the value for money aspect so unless you are a die hard / all weather fan, many &quot;customers" will re-consider how to spend their money and I'm not ashamed to say I'm in that camp. Football is in the entertainment business.
No team has a right to be where they are, but fans have expectations and hopes, and some teams do re-establish themselves permanently at a different level. We have come close the last few seasons but I think we may have shot our bolt as alot of the players that got us there are either gone or aging, we now need to rebuild a different team.

Yes, agreed on your point re the new supporters, and also the costs for us fans. I think each fan can rightly see things in a different light for their own reasons, and within their own circumstances.

[quote][p][bold]Eddy B[/bold] wrote:
[quote][p][bold]DuncanThickett[/bold] wrote:
I feel i need to just offload my thoughts on the club, so bare with me!
I love to read the comments on the various Argus stories, i agree with a lot, i probably disagree with even more though. Yes, we all love our club. Yes, we all want to win games. Yes, we all want to play in the Premier League. But i look at the bigger picture.
Where is our position in English football? Going back to the last days of the Goldstone, finishing 91st in the League - is this our natural position in the pyramid? The last 3 years - top 10, top 6, top 6 - is this our natural position? Are we a team that has a divine right to fight for top 6 every season, or are we a team that has done well recently, but ultimately should be playing at a lower level?
The answer is, in my opinion, we have no right to expect anything. We, like the vast majority of teams, will suffer many highs and lows, and will be fighting for the same things they are. We more than a lot of teams, have seen both extremes.
I think the problem is that we, for the last 3 years, have been totally spoilt with what we have been given. A fantastic stadium, amazing atmospheres, some great players/teams, exciting football and promotion challenges. And now, we are taking it that this is the norm, and that this is what we expect.
Personally, i have loved the last 3 seasons, but i accept that teams have shelf lives, that finances have to be looked after, and that things change, and not always for the better.
I will go to every game, hoping that we win and climb the table, supporting the 11 on the pitch, and just enjoying myself - because that is what it's about ultimately.[/p][/quote]Good points Duncan,
the thing is Brighton have gained alot of new fans these last 3 years so they don't know about the Withdean wilderness years and relatively the current offering is a disappointment after the halycon Poyet / Spanish days. You also pay for what you get so with ticket prices now the fans are entitled to some good football and exciting players. I don't blame people for questioning the value for money aspect so unless you are a die hard / all weather fan, many "customers" will re-consider how to spend their money and I'm not ashamed to say I'm in that camp. Football is in the entertainment business.
No team has a right to be where they are, but fans have expectations and hopes, and some teams do re-establish themselves permanently at a different level. We have come close the last few seasons but I think we may have shot our bolt as alot of the players that got us there are either gone or aging, we now need to rebuild a different team.[/p][/quote]Yes, agreed on your point re the new supporters, and also the costs for us fans. I think each fan can rightly see things in a different light for their own reasons, and within their own circumstances.DuncanThickett

Kit Napier's Beard wrote:
I wonder whether Mr Poyet at Sunderland might want to off load Danny Graham or even let us have Connor Wickham on loan? The other thought is will Glenn Murray make the 25 man cut at Palarse, I assume that he still lives in Brighton and would surely not mss the A23/M23 daily nightmare?

Yep, Glenn Murray lives in Patcham. I bet he'd jump at the chance to come back to the Albion. His situation is obviously complicated by the fact Palace don't have a manager at the moment. Palace would presumably want a fee though which I think the club would find hard to stomach given that he left on a Bosman free. We could do a lot worse though.

[quote][p][bold]Kit Napier's Beard[/bold] wrote:
I wonder whether Mr Poyet at Sunderland might want to off load Danny Graham or even let us have Connor Wickham on loan? The other thought is will Glenn Murray make the 25 man cut at Palarse, I assume that he still lives in Brighton and would surely not mss the A23/M23 daily nightmare?[/p][/quote]Yep, Glenn Murray lives in Patcham. I bet he'd jump at the chance to come back to the Albion. His situation is obviously complicated by the fact Palace don't have a manager at the moment. Palace would presumably want a fee though which I think the club would find hard to stomach given that he left on a Bosman free. We could do a lot worse though.Quiterie

VegasSeagull wrote:
Given that Brighton are certainly three players short, and some might say we need as many as five, I think Bloom might have done well to pick out the closing of the loan window as the time when our gaps will have been plugged, rather than the closing of the buy or sell window.

Hyypia needs another striker, and so do other managers in our division, so if we are looking to buy rather than borrow, we could be talking some big numbers to ensure we win any bidding war that may occur. Brighton have not shown any appetite to spend big, and if that continues, then it seems that our striker will be a loan deal. We could do yet another loan deal with Liverpool, their 21 year old Adorjan is still considered an exciting prospect.

The left back position has beem filled, in recent times, by loanees and again if a decent player were to become available we could also be in a bidding war, so just as the last two seasons have shown, this could be another loanee.

With Buckley gone I guess we will be looking for a replacement, another loanee? This is one position where I would not be surprised if we buy rather than borrow. Other clubs in our division, for the most part, seem to have filled their needs in this area of the park, and we have the money to compete for a signature if we are not trying to fight off a club with parachute payments.

This, I think, highlights a predicament we've got ourselves into by not acting early enough.
The list of freely available players and those that clubs are happy to sell has dwindled to a point where the free players and those surplus to requirement aren't going to improve us.
Equally, those who would improve our squad, but are still under contract, will be premium buys as clubs sniff out desperate buyers - and IMO we're one of them. I don't think we're prepared to enter that market.
Then you look at the loan option. SH's assessment of Holla as having much needed experience suggests he doesn't want to rely on untried - if potentially excellent - youngsters. Players like Ince and Chicksen for example, should probably be back up players who can be coaxed and coached while I still think he'll be looking for a 'number one' striker to make COG the back up. For that to work, the new wouldn't be a kid.
So IMO, we've now driven ourselves up a blind alley and are in a bit of a catch 22. Players we sign in the next two weeks will be shirt-fillers rather than obvious improvements.
If we thought there'd be options as those above us moved and created surplus for us to exploit, then I think we've adopted the wrong strategy.

[quote][p][bold]VegasSeagull[/bold] wrote:
Given that Brighton are certainly three players short, and some might say we need as many as five, I think Bloom might have done well to pick out the closing of the loan window as the time when our gaps will have been plugged, rather than the closing of the buy or sell window.
Hyypia needs another striker, and so do other managers in our division, so if we are looking to buy rather than borrow, we could be talking some big numbers to ensure we win any bidding war that may occur. Brighton have not shown any appetite to spend big, and if that continues, then it seems that our striker will be a loan deal. We could do yet another loan deal with Liverpool, their 21 year old Adorjan is still considered an exciting prospect.
The left back position has beem filled, in recent times, by loanees and again if a decent player were to become available we could also be in a bidding war, so just as the last two seasons have shown, this could be another loanee.
With Buckley gone I guess we will be looking for a replacement, another loanee? This is one position where I would not be surprised if we buy rather than borrow. Other clubs in our division, for the most part, seem to have filled their needs in this area of the park, and we have the money to compete for a signature if we are not trying to fight off a club with parachute payments.[/p][/quote]This, I think, highlights a predicament we've got ourselves into by not acting early enough.
The list of freely available players and those that clubs are happy to sell has dwindled to a point where the free players and those surplus to requirement aren't going to improve us.
Equally, those who would improve our squad, but are still under contract, will be premium buys as clubs sniff out desperate buyers - and IMO we're one of them. I don't think we're prepared to enter that market.
Then you look at the loan option. SH's assessment of Holla as having much needed experience suggests he doesn't want to rely on untried - if potentially excellent - youngsters. Players like Ince and Chicksen for example, should probably be back up players who can be coaxed and coached while I still think he'll be looking for a 'number one' striker to make COG the back up. For that to work, the new wouldn't be a kid.
So IMO, we've now driven ourselves up a blind alley and are in a bit of a catch 22. Players we sign in the next two weeks will be shirt-fillers rather than obvious improvements.
If we thought there'd be options as those above us moved and created surplus for us to exploit, then I think we've adopted the wrong strategy.Albion In Staffs

Should have tried to get Eddie Howe after Gus left.Best manager by far outside the PL.Knows all about the Championship and lower leagues.Would not surprise if Bournemouth end up in the top six in May.

Eddie Howe did bugger all at Burnley though, who have thrived since he left.

[quote][p][bold]SeagullOverSelsey[/bold] wrote:
[quote][p][bold]oldsolariun[/bold] wrote:
Quality is the answer ,not loans journeymen and poor freebies...
Bournemouth sold prolific striker Lewis Grabban but Eddie Howe has
invested in quality rather than quantity with free transfers Dan Gosling (Newcastle) and Junior Stanislas (Burnley) plus big-money signing Callum Wilson (Coventry) who cost in excess of £2million .....
Already SIX points and FIVE goal ahead of the Albion ....[/p][/quote]Should have tried to get Eddie Howe after Gus left.Best manager by far outside the PL.Knows all about the Championship and lower leagues.Would not surprise if Bournemouth end up in the top six in May.[/p][/quote]Eddie Howe did bugger all at Burnley though, who have thrived since he left.Ex-pat Arnie

I have had season tickets for all four grounds we have played at and don't consider myself to be a trol or wum, but I do have an opinion that is sometimes different to others and am not writing this just to stir the pot so to speak, ive just been on the phone to the club about a purchase I was making and I enquired where my little fixture list that fits into the season ticket wallet was this year, the lady was polite and apologised and said they will be posted when they are ready but there Had been a delay, only a tiny issue but the club appear from the outside at least to be a tad disorganised this season

I have had season tickets for all four grounds we have played at and don't consider myself to be a trol or wum, but I do have an opinion that is sometimes different to others and am not writing this just to stir the pot so to speak, ive just been on the phone to the club about a purchase I was making and I enquired where my little fixture list that fits into the season ticket wallet was this year, the lady was polite and apologised and said they will be posted when they are ready but there Had been a delay, only a tiny issue but the club appear from the outside at least to be a tad disorganised this seasonRougvie Legend

VegasSeagull wrote:
Given that Brighton are certainly three players short, and some might say we need as many as five, I think Bloom might have done well to pick out the closing of the loan window as the time when our gaps will have been plugged, rather than the closing of the buy or sell window.

Hyypia needs another striker, and so do other managers in our division, so if we are looking to buy rather than borrow, we could be talking some big numbers to ensure we win any bidding war that may occur. Brighton have not shown any appetite to spend big, and if that continues, then it seems that our striker will be a loan deal. We could do yet another loan deal with Liverpool, their 21 year old Adorjan is still considered an exciting prospect.

The left back position has beem filled, in recent times, by loanees and again if a decent player were to become available we could also be in a bidding war, so just as the last two seasons have shown, this could be another loanee.

With Buckley gone I guess we will be looking for a replacement, another loanee? This is one position where I would not be surprised if we buy rather than borrow. Other clubs in our division, for the most part, seem to have filled their needs in this area of the park, and we have the money to compete for a signature if we are not trying to fight off a club with parachute payments.

This, I think, highlights a predicament we've got ourselves into by not acting early enough.
The list of freely available players and those that clubs are happy to sell has dwindled to a point where the free players and those surplus to requirement aren't going to improve us.
Equally, those who would improve our squad, but are still under contract, will be premium buys as clubs sniff out desperate buyers - and IMO we're one of them. I don't think we're prepared to enter that market.
Then you look at the loan option. SH's assessment of Holla as having much needed experience suggests he doesn't want to rely on untried - if potentially excellent - youngsters. Players like Ince and Chicksen for example, should probably be back up players who can be coaxed and coached while I still think he'll be looking for a 'number one' striker to make COG the back up. For that to work, the new wouldn't be a kid.
So IMO, we've now driven ourselves up a blind alley and are in a bit of a catch 22. Players we sign in the next two weeks will be shirt-fillers rather than obvious improvements.
If we thought there'd be options as those above us moved and created surplus for us to exploit, then I think we've adopted the wrong strategy.

Hi Staffs.
Very hard to argue against your view point regarding buying players, but the loan window could be very important.
I guess it is possible that the club will suddenly open the wallet, we could be surprised and see a couple of quality purchases, but so far nothing points to a desire by the club to go down that route.

Experience doesn't have to mean older players, by older I mean above 29, I would hope that we can satisfy our need for experienced players by picking up guys in their mid twenties. One thing that is for sure is that we are not done with the market, time is running out to buy and if we have targets we need to get the deals pushed over the line. I think Bloom made a mistake when he chose the, buy/sell window as his deadline.

[quote][p][bold]Albion In Staffs[/bold] wrote:
[quote][p][bold]VegasSeagull[/bold] wrote:
Given that Brighton are certainly three players short, and some might say we need as many as five, I think Bloom might have done well to pick out the closing of the loan window as the time when our gaps will have been plugged, rather than the closing of the buy or sell window.
Hyypia needs another striker, and so do other managers in our division, so if we are looking to buy rather than borrow, we could be talking some big numbers to ensure we win any bidding war that may occur. Brighton have not shown any appetite to spend big, and if that continues, then it seems that our striker will be a loan deal. We could do yet another loan deal with Liverpool, their 21 year old Adorjan is still considered an exciting prospect.
The left back position has beem filled, in recent times, by loanees and again if a decent player were to become available we could also be in a bidding war, so just as the last two seasons have shown, this could be another loanee.
With Buckley gone I guess we will be looking for a replacement, another loanee? This is one position where I would not be surprised if we buy rather than borrow. Other clubs in our division, for the most part, seem to have filled their needs in this area of the park, and we have the money to compete for a signature if we are not trying to fight off a club with parachute payments.[/p][/quote]This, I think, highlights a predicament we've got ourselves into by not acting early enough.
The list of freely available players and those that clubs are happy to sell has dwindled to a point where the free players and those surplus to requirement aren't going to improve us.
Equally, those who would improve our squad, but are still under contract, will be premium buys as clubs sniff out desperate buyers - and IMO we're one of them. I don't think we're prepared to enter that market.
Then you look at the loan option. SH's assessment of Holla as having much needed experience suggests he doesn't want to rely on untried - if potentially excellent - youngsters. Players like Ince and Chicksen for example, should probably be back up players who can be coaxed and coached while I still think he'll be looking for a 'number one' striker to make COG the back up. For that to work, the new wouldn't be a kid.
So IMO, we've now driven ourselves up a blind alley and are in a bit of a catch 22. Players we sign in the next two weeks will be shirt-fillers rather than obvious improvements.
If we thought there'd be options as those above us moved and created surplus for us to exploit, then I think we've adopted the wrong strategy.[/p][/quote]Hi Staffs.
Very hard to argue against your view point regarding buying players, but the loan window could be very important.
I guess it is possible that the club will suddenly open the wallet, we could be surprised and see a couple of quality purchases, but so far nothing points to a desire by the club to go down that route.
Experience doesn't have to mean older players, by older I mean above 29, I would hope that we can satisfy our need for experienced players by picking up guys in their mid twenties. One thing that is for sure is that we are not done with the market, time is running out to buy and if we have targets we need to get the deals pushed over the line. I think Bloom made a mistake when he chose the, buy/sell window as his deadline.VegasSeagull

Rougvie Legend wrote:
I have had season tickets for all four grounds we have played at and don't consider myself to be a trol or wum, but I do have an opinion that is sometimes different to others and am not writing this just to stir the pot so to speak, ive just been on the phone to the club about a purchase I was making and I enquired where my little fixture list that fits into the season ticket wallet was this year, the lady was polite and apologised and said they will be posted when they are ready but there Had been a delay, only a tiny issue but the club appear from the outside at least to be a tad disorganised this season

As an offer of one possible explanation, most clubs who offer such a service will have been waiting for the TV dates to be confirmed so that any print run would be bang up to date. The TV companies will wait to see what moves are made in the transfer market before making selections based on expected performance and while they've been known for a couple of weeks now, it may provide some sort of explanation as to why they've yet to be sent?
I too, have been critical when I feel it merits, but equally, balance is always a consideration so just a thought.

[quote][p][bold]Rougvie Legend[/bold] wrote:
I have had season tickets for all four grounds we have played at and don't consider myself to be a trol or wum, but I do have an opinion that is sometimes different to others and am not writing this just to stir the pot so to speak, ive just been on the phone to the club about a purchase I was making and I enquired where my little fixture list that fits into the season ticket wallet was this year, the lady was polite and apologised and said they will be posted when they are ready but there Had been a delay, only a tiny issue but the club appear from the outside at least to be a tad disorganised this season[/p][/quote]As an offer of one possible explanation, most clubs who offer such a service will have been waiting for the TV dates to be confirmed so that any print run would be bang up to date. The TV companies will wait to see what moves are made in the transfer market before making selections based on expected performance and while they've been known for a couple of weeks now, it may provide some sort of explanation as to why they've yet to be sent?
I too, have been critical when I feel it merits, but equally, balance is always a consideration so just a thought.Albion In Staffs

Rougvie Legend wrote:
I have had season tickets for all four grounds we have played at and don't consider myself to be a trol or wum, but I do have an opinion that is sometimes different to others and am not writing this just to stir the pot so to speak, ive just been on the phone to the club about a purchase I was making and I enquired where my little fixture list that fits into the season ticket wallet was this year, the lady was polite and apologised and said they will be posted when they are ready but there Had been a delay, only a tiny issue but the club appear from the outside at least to be a tad disorganised this season

As an offer of one possible explanation, most clubs who offer such a service will have been waiting for the TV dates to be confirmed so that any print run would be bang up to date. The TV companies will wait to see what moves are made in the transfer market before making selections based on expected performance and while they've been known for a couple of weeks now, it may provide some sort of explanation as to why they've yet to be sent?
I too, have been critical when I feel it merits, but equally, balance is always a consideration so just a thought.

[quote][p][bold]Rougvie Legend[/bold] wrote:
I have had season tickets for all four grounds we have played at and don't consider myself to be a trol or wum, but I do have an opinion that is sometimes different to others and am not writing this just to stir the pot so to speak, ive just been on the phone to the club about a purchase I was making and I enquired where my little fixture list that fits into the season ticket wallet was this year, the lady was polite and apologised and said they will be posted when they are ready but there Had been a delay, only a tiny issue but the club appear from the outside at least to be a tad disorganised this season[/p][/quote]As an offer of one possible explanation, most clubs who offer such a service will have been waiting for the TV dates to be confirmed so that any print run would be bang up to date. The TV companies will wait to see what moves are made in the transfer market before making selections based on expected performance and while they've been known for a couple of weeks now, it may provide some sort of explanation as to why they've yet to be sent?
I too, have been critical when I feel it merits, but equally, balance is always a consideration so just a thought.Albion In Staffs

Rougvie Legend wrote:
I have had season tickets for all four grounds we have played at and don't consider myself to be a trol or wum, but I do have an opinion that is sometimes different to others and am not writing this just to stir the pot so to speak, ive just been on the phone to the club about a purchase I was making and I enquired where my little fixture list that fits into the season ticket wallet was this year, the lady was polite and apologised and said they will be posted when they are ready but there Had been a delay, only a tiny issue but the club appear from the outside at least to be a tad disorganised this season

As an offer of one possible explanation, most clubs who offer such a service will have been waiting for the TV dates to be confirmed so that any print run would be bang up to date. The TV companies will wait to see what moves are made in the transfer market before making selections based on expected performance and while they've been known for a couple of weeks now, it may provide some sort of explanation as to why they've yet to be sent?
I too, have been critical when I feel it merits, but equally, balance is always a consideration so just a thought.

Yeah could be, but they usually manage to deliver on time for the season start, it does make me wonder with everything else this close season if things aren't as they should be behind the scenes

[quote][p][bold]Albion In Staffs[/bold] wrote:
[quote][p][bold]Rougvie Legend[/bold] wrote:
I have had season tickets for all four grounds we have played at and don't consider myself to be a trol or wum, but I do have an opinion that is sometimes different to others and am not writing this just to stir the pot so to speak, ive just been on the phone to the club about a purchase I was making and I enquired where my little fixture list that fits into the season ticket wallet was this year, the lady was polite and apologised and said they will be posted when they are ready but there Had been a delay, only a tiny issue but the club appear from the outside at least to be a tad disorganised this season[/p][/quote]As an offer of one possible explanation, most clubs who offer such a service will have been waiting for the TV dates to be confirmed so that any print run would be bang up to date. The TV companies will wait to see what moves are made in the transfer market before making selections based on expected performance and while they've been known for a couple of weeks now, it may provide some sort of explanation as to why they've yet to be sent?
I too, have been critical when I feel it merits, but equally, balance is always a consideration so just a thought.[/p][/quote]Yeah could be, but they usually manage to deliver on time for the season start, it does make me wonder with everything else this close season if things aren't as they should be behind the scenesRougvie Legend

VegasSeagull wrote:
Given that Brighton are certainly three players short, and some might say we need as many as five, I think Bloom might have done well to pick out the closing of the loan window as the time when our gaps will have been plugged, rather than the closing of the buy or sell window.

Hyypia needs another striker, and so do other managers in our division, so if we are looking to buy rather than borrow, we could be talking some big numbers to ensure we win any bidding war that may occur. Brighton have not shown any appetite to spend big, and if that continues, then it seems that our striker will be a loan deal. We could do yet another loan deal with Liverpool, their 21 year old Adorjan is still considered an exciting prospect.

The left back position has beem filled, in recent times, by loanees and again if a decent player were to become available we could also be in a bidding war, so just as the last two seasons have shown, this could be another loanee.

With Buckley gone I guess we will be looking for a replacement, another loanee? This is one position where I would not be surprised if we buy rather than borrow. Other clubs in our division, for the most part, seem to have filled their needs in this area of the park, and we have the money to compete for a signature if we are not trying to fight off a club with parachute payments.

This, I think, highlights a predicament we've got ourselves into by not acting early enough.
The list of freely available players and those that clubs are happy to sell has dwindled to a point where the free players and those surplus to requirement aren't going to improve us.
Equally, those who would improve our squad, but are still under contract, will be premium buys as clubs sniff out desperate buyers - and IMO we're one of them. I don't think we're prepared to enter that market.
Then you look at the loan option. SH's assessment of Holla as having much needed experience suggests he doesn't want to rely on untried - if potentially excellent - youngsters. Players like Ince and Chicksen for example, should probably be back up players who can be coaxed and coached while I still think he'll be looking for a 'number one' striker to make COG the back up. For that to work, the new wouldn't be a kid.
So IMO, we've now driven ourselves up a blind alley and are in a bit of a catch 22. Players we sign in the next two weeks will be shirt-fillers rather than obvious improvements.
If we thought there'd be options as those above us moved and created surplus for us to exploit, then I think we've adopted the wrong strategy.

Hi Staffs.
Very hard to argue against your view point regarding buying players, but the loan window could be very important.
I guess it is possible that the club will suddenly open the wallet, we could be surprised and see a couple of quality purchases, but so far nothing points to a desire by the club to go down that route.

Experience doesn't have to mean older players, by older I mean above 29, I would hope that we can satisfy our need for experienced players by picking up guys in their mid twenties. One thing that is for sure is that we are not done with the market, time is running out to buy and if we have targets we need to get the deals pushed over the line. I think Bloom made a mistake when he chose the, buy/sell window as his deadline.

There is one chink of light in the current scenario and that is that we may be waiting on a club's own success in signing an expensive target before ours rather more benign option becomes available. It's a possibility though that doesn't IMO excuse our current predicament, but it is a possibility.
And yes, it's also possible, there's an expensive rabbit waiting to be pulled out of a Premier League hat..
From a loan perspective, perhaps players like Walters at Stoke or Assou Ekotto at Spurs are options. All pure speculation on my part, and possibly unaffordable within our strategy, but there is still time. Although I remain critical of the situation we've got ourselves into.

[quote][p][bold]VegasSeagull[/bold] wrote:
[quote][p][bold]Albion In Staffs[/bold] wrote:
[quote][p][bold]VegasSeagull[/bold] wrote:
Given that Brighton are certainly three players short, and some might say we need as many as five, I think Bloom might have done well to pick out the closing of the loan window as the time when our gaps will have been plugged, rather than the closing of the buy or sell window.
Hyypia needs another striker, and so do other managers in our division, so if we are looking to buy rather than borrow, we could be talking some big numbers to ensure we win any bidding war that may occur. Brighton have not shown any appetite to spend big, and if that continues, then it seems that our striker will be a loan deal. We could do yet another loan deal with Liverpool, their 21 year old Adorjan is still considered an exciting prospect.
The left back position has beem filled, in recent times, by loanees and again if a decent player were to become available we could also be in a bidding war, so just as the last two seasons have shown, this could be another loanee.
With Buckley gone I guess we will be looking for a replacement, another loanee? This is one position where I would not be surprised if we buy rather than borrow. Other clubs in our division, for the most part, seem to have filled their needs in this area of the park, and we have the money to compete for a signature if we are not trying to fight off a club with parachute payments.[/p][/quote]This, I think, highlights a predicament we've got ourselves into by not acting early enough.
The list of freely available players and those that clubs are happy to sell has dwindled to a point where the free players and those surplus to requirement aren't going to improve us.
Equally, those who would improve our squad, but are still under contract, will be premium buys as clubs sniff out desperate buyers - and IMO we're one of them. I don't think we're prepared to enter that market.
Then you look at the loan option. SH's assessment of Holla as having much needed experience suggests he doesn't want to rely on untried - if potentially excellent - youngsters. Players like Ince and Chicksen for example, should probably be back up players who can be coaxed and coached while I still think he'll be looking for a 'number one' striker to make COG the back up. For that to work, the new wouldn't be a kid.
So IMO, we've now driven ourselves up a blind alley and are in a bit of a catch 22. Players we sign in the next two weeks will be shirt-fillers rather than obvious improvements.
If we thought there'd be options as those above us moved and created surplus for us to exploit, then I think we've adopted the wrong strategy.[/p][/quote]Hi Staffs.
Very hard to argue against your view point regarding buying players, but the loan window could be very important.
I guess it is possible that the club will suddenly open the wallet, we could be surprised and see a couple of quality purchases, but so far nothing points to a desire by the club to go down that route.
Experience doesn't have to mean older players, by older I mean above 29, I would hope that we can satisfy our need for experienced players by picking up guys in their mid twenties. One thing that is for sure is that we are not done with the market, time is running out to buy and if we have targets we need to get the deals pushed over the line. I think Bloom made a mistake when he chose the, buy/sell window as his deadline.[/p][/quote]There is one chink of light in the current scenario and that is that we may be waiting on a club's own success in signing an expensive target before ours rather more benign option becomes available. It's a possibility though that doesn't IMO excuse our current predicament, but it is a possibility.
And yes, it's also possible, there's an expensive rabbit waiting to be pulled out of a Premier League hat..
From a loan perspective, perhaps players like Walters at Stoke or Assou Ekotto at Spurs are options. All pure speculation on my part, and possibly unaffordable within our strategy, but there is still time. Although I remain critical of the situation we've got ourselves into.Albion In Staffs

Rougvie Legend wrote:
I have had season tickets for all four grounds we have played at and don't consider myself to be a trol or wum, but I do have an opinion that is sometimes different to others and am not writing this just to stir the pot so to speak, ive just been on the phone to the club about a purchase I was making and I enquired where my little fixture list that fits into the season ticket wallet was this year, the lady was polite and apologised and said they will be posted when they are ready but there Had been a delay, only a tiny issue but the club appear from the outside at least to be a tad disorganised this season

As an offer of one possible explanation, most clubs who offer such a service will have been waiting for the TV dates to be confirmed so that any print run would be bang up to date. The TV companies will wait to see what moves are made in the transfer market before making selections based on expected performance and while they've been known for a couple of weeks now, it may provide some sort of explanation as to why they've yet to be sent?
I too, have been critical when I feel it merits, but equally, balance is always a consideration so just a thought.

Yeah could be, but they usually manage to deliver on time for the season start, it does make me wonder with everything else this close season if things aren't as they should be behind the scenes

Yep, my explanation is not the answer, merely a thought. Let's just say I understand why you might think that way!

[quote][p][bold]Rougvie Legend[/bold] wrote:
[quote][p][bold]Albion In Staffs[/bold] wrote:
[quote][p][bold]Rougvie Legend[/bold] wrote:
I have had season tickets for all four grounds we have played at and don't consider myself to be a trol or wum, but I do have an opinion that is sometimes different to others and am not writing this just to stir the pot so to speak, ive just been on the phone to the club about a purchase I was making and I enquired where my little fixture list that fits into the season ticket wallet was this year, the lady was polite and apologised and said they will be posted when they are ready but there Had been a delay, only a tiny issue but the club appear from the outside at least to be a tad disorganised this season[/p][/quote]As an offer of one possible explanation, most clubs who offer such a service will have been waiting for the TV dates to be confirmed so that any print run would be bang up to date. The TV companies will wait to see what moves are made in the transfer market before making selections based on expected performance and while they've been known for a couple of weeks now, it may provide some sort of explanation as to why they've yet to be sent?
I too, have been critical when I feel it merits, but equally, balance is always a consideration so just a thought.[/p][/quote]Yeah could be, but they usually manage to deliver on time for the season start, it does make me wonder with everything else this close season if things aren't as they should be behind the scenes[/p][/quote]Yep, my explanation is not the answer, merely a thought. Let's just say I understand why you might think that way!Albion In Staffs

VegasSeagull wrote:
Given that Brighton are certainly three players short, and some might say we need as many as five, I think Bloom might have done well to pick out the closing of the loan window as the time when our gaps will have been plugged, rather than the closing of the buy or sell window.

Hyypia needs another striker, and so do other managers in our division, so if we are looking to buy rather than borrow, we could be talking some big numbers to ensure we win any bidding war that may occur. Brighton have not shown any appetite to spend big, and if that continues, then it seems that our striker will be a loan deal. We could do yet another loan deal with Liverpool, their 21 year old Adorjan is still considered an exciting prospect.

The left back position has beem filled, in recent times, by loanees and again if a decent player were to become available we could also be in a bidding war, so just as the last two seasons have shown, this could be another loanee.

With Buckley gone I guess we will be looking for a replacement, another loanee? This is one position where I would not be surprised if we buy rather than borrow. Other clubs in our division, for the most part, seem to have filled their needs in this area of the park, and we have the money to compete for a signature if we are not trying to fight off a club with parachute payments.

This, I think, highlights a predicament we've got ourselves into by not acting early enough.
The list of freely available players and those that clubs are happy to sell has dwindled to a point where the free players and those surplus to requirement aren't going to improve us.
Equally, those who would improve our squad, but are still under contract, will be premium buys as clubs sniff out desperate buyers - and IMO we're one of them. I don't think we're prepared to enter that market.
Then you look at the loan option. SH's assessment of Holla as having much needed experience suggests he doesn't want to rely on untried - if potentially excellent - youngsters. Players like Ince and Chicksen for example, should probably be back up players who can be coaxed and coached while I still think he'll be looking for a 'number one' striker to make COG the back up. For that to work, the new wouldn't be a kid.
So IMO, we've now driven ourselves up a blind alley and are in a bit of a catch 22. Players we sign in the next two weeks will be shirt-fillers rather than obvious improvements.
If we thought there'd be options as those above us moved and created surplus for us to exploit, then I think we've adopted the wrong strategy.

Hi Staffs.
Very hard to argue against your view point regarding buying players, but the loan window could be very important.
I guess it is possible that the club will suddenly open the wallet, we could be surprised and see a couple of quality purchases, but so far nothing points to a desire by the club to go down that route.

Experience doesn't have to mean older players, by older I mean above 29, I would hope that we can satisfy our need for experienced players by picking up guys in their mid twenties. One thing that is for sure is that we are not done with the market, time is running out to buy and if we have targets we need to get the deals pushed over the line. I think Bloom made a mistake when he chose the, buy/sell window as his deadline.

There is one chink of light in the current scenario and that is that we may be waiting on a club's own success in signing an expensive target before ours rather more benign option becomes available. It's a possibility though that doesn't IMO excuse our current predicament, but it is a possibility.
And yes, it's also possible, there's an expensive rabbit waiting to be pulled out of a Premier League hat..
From a loan perspective, perhaps players like Walters at Stoke or Assou Ekotto at Spurs are options. All pure speculation on my part, and possibly unaffordable within our strategy, but there is still time. Although I remain critical of the situation we've got ourselves into.

Staffs do you think that there is an agenda that is not for public consumption, that agenda being that we are on a two year building plan rather than a one year.
If we were to be fair with Hyypia would we not give him 4 windows to build his sqaud, considering the timing of his joining us. Is this a, improve where we can in this window, do a little more come January, but take a tenth/twelth finsihing position this season. A season of consolidation with some improvements. Bruno and Calde could well be gone next season, CMS too, so more work will need to be done on the sqaud. In fact, had Hyypia joined us much earlier, it is possible that Bruno and Calde could have been let go rather than given new one year deals. Greer also looks like one that could go next year. Two pre-seasons with a manager arriving late, that should not be the case come next year, Hyypia gets a chance to build on what gets done this year.

[quote][p][bold]Albion In Staffs[/bold] wrote:
[quote][p][bold]VegasSeagull[/bold] wrote:
[quote][p][bold]Albion In Staffs[/bold] wrote:
[quote][p][bold]VegasSeagull[/bold] wrote:
Given that Brighton are certainly three players short, and some might say we need as many as five, I think Bloom might have done well to pick out the closing of the loan window as the time when our gaps will have been plugged, rather than the closing of the buy or sell window.
Hyypia needs another striker, and so do other managers in our division, so if we are looking to buy rather than borrow, we could be talking some big numbers to ensure we win any bidding war that may occur. Brighton have not shown any appetite to spend big, and if that continues, then it seems that our striker will be a loan deal. We could do yet another loan deal with Liverpool, their 21 year old Adorjan is still considered an exciting prospect.
The left back position has beem filled, in recent times, by loanees and again if a decent player were to become available we could also be in a bidding war, so just as the last two seasons have shown, this could be another loanee.
With Buckley gone I guess we will be looking for a replacement, another loanee? This is one position where I would not be surprised if we buy rather than borrow. Other clubs in our division, for the most part, seem to have filled their needs in this area of the park, and we have the money to compete for a signature if we are not trying to fight off a club with parachute payments.[/p][/quote]This, I think, highlights a predicament we've got ourselves into by not acting early enough.
The list of freely available players and those that clubs are happy to sell has dwindled to a point where the free players and those surplus to requirement aren't going to improve us.
Equally, those who would improve our squad, but are still under contract, will be premium buys as clubs sniff out desperate buyers - and IMO we're one of them. I don't think we're prepared to enter that market.
Then you look at the loan option. SH's assessment of Holla as having much needed experience suggests he doesn't want to rely on untried - if potentially excellent - youngsters. Players like Ince and Chicksen for example, should probably be back up players who can be coaxed and coached while I still think he'll be looking for a 'number one' striker to make COG the back up. For that to work, the new wouldn't be a kid.
So IMO, we've now driven ourselves up a blind alley and are in a bit of a catch 22. Players we sign in the next two weeks will be shirt-fillers rather than obvious improvements.
If we thought there'd be options as those above us moved and created surplus for us to exploit, then I think we've adopted the wrong strategy.[/p][/quote]Hi Staffs.
Very hard to argue against your view point regarding buying players, but the loan window could be very important.
I guess it is possible that the club will suddenly open the wallet, we could be surprised and see a couple of quality purchases, but so far nothing points to a desire by the club to go down that route.
Experience doesn't have to mean older players, by older I mean above 29, I would hope that we can satisfy our need for experienced players by picking up guys in their mid twenties. One thing that is for sure is that we are not done with the market, time is running out to buy and if we have targets we need to get the deals pushed over the line. I think Bloom made a mistake when he chose the, buy/sell window as his deadline.[/p][/quote]There is one chink of light in the current scenario and that is that we may be waiting on a club's own success in signing an expensive target before ours rather more benign option becomes available. It's a possibility though that doesn't IMO excuse our current predicament, but it is a possibility.
And yes, it's also possible, there's an expensive rabbit waiting to be pulled out of a Premier League hat..
From a loan perspective, perhaps players like Walters at Stoke or Assou Ekotto at Spurs are options. All pure speculation on my part, and possibly unaffordable within our strategy, but there is still time. Although I remain critical of the situation we've got ourselves into.[/p][/quote]Staffs do you think that there is an agenda that is not for public consumption, that agenda being that we are on a two year building plan rather than a one year.
If we were to be fair with Hyypia would we not give him 4 windows to build his sqaud, considering the timing of his joining us. Is this a, improve where we can in this window, do a little more come January, but take a tenth/twelth finsihing position this season. A season of consolidation with some improvements. Bruno and Calde could well be gone next season, CMS too, so more work will need to be done on the sqaud. In fact, had Hyypia joined us much earlier, it is possible that Bruno and Calde could have been let go rather than given new one year deals. Greer also looks like one that could go next year. Two pre-seasons with a manager arriving late, that should not be the case come next year, Hyypia gets a chance to build on what gets done this year.VegasSeagull

VegasSeagull wrote:
Given that Brighton are certainly three players short, and some might say we need as many as five, I think Bloom might have done well to pick out the closing of the loan window as the time when our gaps will have been plugged, rather than the closing of the buy or sell window.

Hyypia needs another striker, and so do other managers in our division, so if we are looking to buy rather than borrow, we could be talking some big numbers to ensure we win any bidding war that may occur. Brighton have not shown any appetite to spend big, and if that continues, then it seems that our striker will be a loan deal. We could do yet another loan deal with Liverpool, their 21 year old Adorjan is still considered an exciting prospect.

The left back position has beem filled, in recent times, by loanees and again if a decent player were to become available we could also be in a bidding war, so just as the last two seasons have shown, this could be another loanee.

With Buckley gone I guess we will be looking for a replacement, another loanee? This is one position where I would not be surprised if we buy rather than borrow. Other clubs in our division, for the most part, seem to have filled their needs in this area of the park, and we have the money to compete for a signature if we are not trying to fight off a club with parachute payments.

This, I think, highlights a predicament we've got ourselves into by not acting early enough.
The list of freely available players and those that clubs are happy to sell has dwindled to a point where the free players and those surplus to requirement aren't going to improve us.
Equally, those who would improve our squad, but are still under contract, will be premium buys as clubs sniff out desperate buyers - and IMO we're one of them. I don't think we're prepared to enter that market.
Then you look at the loan option. SH's assessment of Holla as having much needed experience suggests he doesn't want to rely on untried - if potentially excellent - youngsters. Players like Ince and Chicksen for example, should probably be back up players who can be coaxed and coached while I still think he'll be looking for a 'number one' striker to make COG the back up. For that to work, the new wouldn't be a kid.
So IMO, we've now driven ourselves up a blind alley and are in a bit of a catch 22. Players we sign in the next two weeks will be shirt-fillers rather than obvious improvements.
If we thought there'd be options as those above us moved and created surplus for us to exploit, then I think we've adopted the wrong strategy.

Hi Staffs.
Very hard to argue against your view point regarding buying players, but the loan window could be very important.
I guess it is possible that the club will suddenly open the wallet, we could be surprised and see a couple of quality purchases, but so far nothing points to a desire by the club to go down that route.

Experience doesn't have to mean older players, by older I mean above 29, I would hope that we can satisfy our need for experienced players by picking up guys in their mid twenties. One thing that is for sure is that we are not done with the market, time is running out to buy and if we have targets we need to get the deals pushed over the line. I think Bloom made a mistake when he chose the, buy/sell window as his deadline.

There is one chink of light in the current scenario and that is that we may be waiting on a club's own success in signing an expensive target before ours rather more benign option becomes available. It's a possibility though that doesn't IMO excuse our current predicament, but it is a possibility.
And yes, it's also possible, there's an expensive rabbit waiting to be pulled out of a Premier League hat..
From a loan perspective, perhaps players like Walters at Stoke or Assou Ekotto at Spurs are options. All pure speculation on my part, and possibly unaffordable within our strategy, but there is still time. Although I remain critical of the situation we've got ourselves into.

Staffs do you think that there is an agenda that is not for public consumption, that agenda being that we are on a two year building plan rather than a one year.
If we were to be fair with Hyypia would we not give him 4 windows to build his sqaud, considering the timing of his joining us. Is this a, improve where we can in this window, do a little more come January, but take a tenth/twelth finsihing position this season. A season of consolidation with some improvements. Bruno and Calde could well be gone next season, CMS too, so more work will need to be done on the sqaud. In fact, had Hyypia joined us much earlier, it is possible that Bruno and Calde could have been let go rather than given new one year deals. Greer also looks like one that could go next year. Two pre-seasons with a manager arriving late, that should not be the case come next year, Hyypia gets a chance to build on what gets done this year.

Completely plausible.
My main gripe with that scenario, if true, is those in charge should then have created a quiet strategy to reflect that plan rather than burying their heads in the sand and not communicating effectively.
Of course they aren't going to tell fans; 'we're not aiming for promotion this year' but a little more reflection on the (perfectly reasonable) need for stability and re-assessment to make sure we don't have another summer like the last two etc etc would have been useful.
It tells a story without having to spill the entire bean can and too many things have been said - or half said - which leave the door open for conspiracy theories.
Most fans would be more understanding, some of course would be frustrated, but we'd all be better informed. At a football club you will never please every fan with anything you say, but you can create a level of expectation that fans will impose upon themselves. A far better approach than looking foolish - or worse - with hollow statements of intent.
It's my view that the club has been naive in it's approach and that has lead to disaffection amongst the fan base. The activity in the market just doesn't match up to the promises - and fans aren't completely dumb.

[quote][p][bold]VegasSeagull[/bold] wrote:
[quote][p][bold]Albion In Staffs[/bold] wrote:
[quote][p][bold]VegasSeagull[/bold] wrote:
[quote][p][bold]Albion In Staffs[/bold] wrote:
[quote][p][bold]VegasSeagull[/bold] wrote:
Given that Brighton are certainly three players short, and some might say we need as many as five, I think Bloom might have done well to pick out the closing of the loan window as the time when our gaps will have been plugged, rather than the closing of the buy or sell window.
Hyypia needs another striker, and so do other managers in our division, so if we are looking to buy rather than borrow, we could be talking some big numbers to ensure we win any bidding war that may occur. Brighton have not shown any appetite to spend big, and if that continues, then it seems that our striker will be a loan deal. We could do yet another loan deal with Liverpool, their 21 year old Adorjan is still considered an exciting prospect.
The left back position has beem filled, in recent times, by loanees and again if a decent player were to become available we could also be in a bidding war, so just as the last two seasons have shown, this could be another loanee.
With Buckley gone I guess we will be looking for a replacement, another loanee? This is one position where I would not be surprised if we buy rather than borrow. Other clubs in our division, for the most part, seem to have filled their needs in this area of the park, and we have the money to compete for a signature if we are not trying to fight off a club with parachute payments.[/p][/quote]This, I think, highlights a predicament we've got ourselves into by not acting early enough.
The list of freely available players and those that clubs are happy to sell has dwindled to a point where the free players and those surplus to requirement aren't going to improve us.
Equally, those who would improve our squad, but are still under contract, will be premium buys as clubs sniff out desperate buyers - and IMO we're one of them. I don't think we're prepared to enter that market.
Then you look at the loan option. SH's assessment of Holla as having much needed experience suggests he doesn't want to rely on untried - if potentially excellent - youngsters. Players like Ince and Chicksen for example, should probably be back up players who can be coaxed and coached while I still think he'll be looking for a 'number one' striker to make COG the back up. For that to work, the new wouldn't be a kid.
So IMO, we've now driven ourselves up a blind alley and are in a bit of a catch 22. Players we sign in the next two weeks will be shirt-fillers rather than obvious improvements.
If we thought there'd be options as those above us moved and created surplus for us to exploit, then I think we've adopted the wrong strategy.[/p][/quote]Hi Staffs.
Very hard to argue against your view point regarding buying players, but the loan window could be very important.
I guess it is possible that the club will suddenly open the wallet, we could be surprised and see a couple of quality purchases, but so far nothing points to a desire by the club to go down that route.
Experience doesn't have to mean older players, by older I mean above 29, I would hope that we can satisfy our need for experienced players by picking up guys in their mid twenties. One thing that is for sure is that we are not done with the market, time is running out to buy and if we have targets we need to get the deals pushed over the line. I think Bloom made a mistake when he chose the, buy/sell window as his deadline.[/p][/quote]There is one chink of light in the current scenario and that is that we may be waiting on a club's own success in signing an expensive target before ours rather more benign option becomes available. It's a possibility though that doesn't IMO excuse our current predicament, but it is a possibility.
And yes, it's also possible, there's an expensive rabbit waiting to be pulled out of a Premier League hat..
From a loan perspective, perhaps players like Walters at Stoke or Assou Ekotto at Spurs are options. All pure speculation on my part, and possibly unaffordable within our strategy, but there is still time. Although I remain critical of the situation we've got ourselves into.[/p][/quote]Staffs do you think that there is an agenda that is not for public consumption, that agenda being that we are on a two year building plan rather than a one year.
If we were to be fair with Hyypia would we not give him 4 windows to build his sqaud, considering the timing of his joining us. Is this a, improve where we can in this window, do a little more come January, but take a tenth/twelth finsihing position this season. A season of consolidation with some improvements. Bruno and Calde could well be gone next season, CMS too, so more work will need to be done on the sqaud. In fact, had Hyypia joined us much earlier, it is possible that Bruno and Calde could have been let go rather than given new one year deals. Greer also looks like one that could go next year. Two pre-seasons with a manager arriving late, that should not be the case come next year, Hyypia gets a chance to build on what gets done this year.[/p][/quote]Completely plausible.
My main gripe with that scenario, if true, is those in charge should then have created a quiet strategy to reflect that plan rather than burying their heads in the sand and not communicating effectively.
Of course they aren't going to tell fans; 'we're not aiming for promotion this year' but a little more reflection on the (perfectly reasonable) need for stability and re-assessment to make sure we don't have another summer like the last two etc etc would have been useful.
It tells a story without having to spill the entire bean can and too many things have been said - or half said - which leave the door open for conspiracy theories.
Most fans would be more understanding, some of course would be frustrated, but we'd all be better informed. At a football club you will never please every fan with anything you say, but you can create a level of expectation that fans will impose upon themselves. A far better approach than looking foolish - or worse - with hollow statements of intent.
It's my view that the club has been naive in it's approach and that has lead to disaffection amongst the fan base. The activity in the market just doesn't match up to the promises - and fans aren't completely dumb.Albion In Staffs

Post of the week...and it's only Monday! Bournemouth don't have half the potential or support we do but they're punching well above their weight. Shrewd chairman and smart manager.

I said a long time ago that Eddie Howe was the guy we should be targeting. Hyppia isn't being given a chance to succeed right now. Too many changes in personnel and no clear plan or direction. Just a lot of unhappy players who couldn't wait to leave the club.

[quote][p][bold]oldsolariun[/bold] wrote:
Quality is the answer ,not loans journeymen and poor freebies...
Bournemouth sold prolific striker Lewis Grabban but Eddie Howe has
invested in quality rather than quantity with free transfers Dan Gosling (Newcastle) and Junior Stanislas (Burnley) plus big-money signing Callum Wilson (Coventry) who cost in excess of £2million .....
Already SIX points and FIVE goal ahead of the Albion ....[/p][/quote]Post of the week...and it's only Monday! Bournemouth don't have half the potential or support we do but they're punching well above their weight. Shrewd chairman and smart manager.
I said a long time ago that Eddie Howe was the guy we should be targeting. Hyppia isn't being given a chance to succeed right now. Too many changes in personnel and no clear plan or direction. Just a lot of unhappy players who couldn't wait to leave the club.heshootshescores

Patience is a Virtue, and I am sure that Albion will bring in a new Striker/s before the Transfer Window shuts on September 1st. On the positive Brighton has strength in depth in Midfield with Toko, Texiera, Holla and Ince, and is defensively strong with Greer, Calderon, Bruno, Stockdale, Hughes, Dunk and Chicksen. We have played Two Games, and I am sure that Sami will find right combination of Strikers, in CMS, and O'Grady, and Winger Lua Lua. It is a question of the Strikers learning to play to each others strengths. It is important that Brighton fans keep supporting the Club in my view. The Amex needs to be turned into a a Fortress as the With dean Stadium was making it difficult for other teams to score.

Patience is a Virtue, and I am sure that Albion will bring in a new Striker/s before the Transfer Window shuts on September 1st. On the positive Brighton has strength in depth in Midfield with Toko, Texiera, Holla and Ince, and is defensively strong with Greer, Calderon, Bruno, Stockdale, Hughes, Dunk and Chicksen. We have played Two Games, and I am sure that Sami will find right combination of Strikers, in CMS, and O'Grady, and Winger Lua Lua. It is a question of the Strikers learning to play to each others strengths. It is important that Brighton fans keep supporting the Club in my view. The Amex needs to be turned into a a Fortress as the With dean Stadium was making it difficult for other teams to score.Seagulls High

Post of the week...and it's only Monday! Bournemouth don't have half the potential or support we do but they're punching well above their weight. Shrewd chairman and smart manager.

I said a long time ago that Eddie Howe was the guy we should be targeting. Hyppia isn't being given a chance to succeed right now. Too many changes in personnel and no clear plan or direction. Just a lot of unhappy players who couldn't wait to leave the club.

Change your last sentense to, couldn't wait to play prem level football, and I feel you would be more accurate. Upson, Buckley, Ulloa and TK left, 'thinking,' he would get a prem contract, he said that the prem is where he should be. Do you really think that your last sentence is a fair reflection on why the players I have mentioned left Brighton? Had they been refused a transfer then they certainly would have been unhappy.

[quote][p][bold]heshootshescores[/bold] wrote:
[quote][p][bold]oldsolariun[/bold] wrote:
Quality is the answer ,not loans journeymen and poor freebies...
Bournemouth sold prolific striker Lewis Grabban but Eddie Howe has
invested in quality rather than quantity with free transfers Dan Gosling (Newcastle) and Junior Stanislas (Burnley) plus big-money signing Callum Wilson (Coventry) who cost in excess of £2million .....
Already SIX points and FIVE goal ahead of the Albion ....[/p][/quote]Post of the week...and it's only Monday! Bournemouth don't have half the potential or support we do but they're punching well above their weight. Shrewd chairman and smart manager.
I said a long time ago that Eddie Howe was the guy we should be targeting. Hyppia isn't being given a chance to succeed right now. Too many changes in personnel and no clear plan or direction. Just a lot of unhappy players who couldn't wait to leave the club.[/p][/quote]Change your last sentense to, couldn't wait to play prem level football, and I feel you would be more accurate. Upson, Buckley, Ulloa and TK left, 'thinking,' he would get a prem contract, he said that the prem is where he should be. Do you really think that your last sentence is a fair reflection on why the players I have mentioned left Brighton? Had they been refused a transfer then they certainly would have been unhappy.VegasSeagull

Post of the week...and it's only Monday! Bournemouth don't have half the potential or support we do but they're punching well above their weight. Shrewd chairman and smart manager.

I said a long time ago that Eddie Howe was the guy we should be targeting. Hyppia isn't being given a chance to succeed right now. Too many changes in personnel and no clear plan or direction. Just a lot of unhappy players who couldn't wait to leave the club.

Two very good posts and right to the point, reinforcing what I've been saying for the last couple of months.

[quote][p][bold]heshootshescores[/bold] wrote:
[quote][p][bold]oldsolariun[/bold] wrote:
Quality is the answer ,not loans journeymen and poor freebies...
Bournemouth sold prolific striker Lewis Grabban but Eddie Howe has
invested in quality rather than quantity with free transfers Dan Gosling (Newcastle) and Junior Stanislas (Burnley) plus big-money signing Callum Wilson (Coventry) who cost in excess of £2million .....
Already SIX points and FIVE goal ahead of the Albion ....[/p][/quote]Post of the week...and it's only Monday! Bournemouth don't have half the potential or support we do but they're punching well above their weight. Shrewd chairman and smart manager.
I said a long time ago that Eddie Howe was the guy we should be targeting. Hyppia isn't being given a chance to succeed right now. Too many changes in personnel and no clear plan or direction. Just a lot of unhappy players who couldn't wait to leave the club.[/p][/quote]Two very good posts and right to the point, reinforcing what I've been saying for the last couple of months.Mayfield sweeper

Post of the week...and it's only Monday! Bournemouth don't have half the potential or support we do but they're punching well above their weight. Shrewd chairman and smart manager.

I said a long time ago that Eddie Howe was the guy we should be targeting. Hyppia isn't being given a chance to succeed right now. Too many changes in personnel and no clear plan or direction. Just a lot of unhappy players who couldn't wait to leave the club.

Change your last sentense to, couldn't wait to play prem level football, and I feel you would be more accurate. Upson, Buckley, Ulloa and TK left, 'thinking,' he would get a prem contract, he said that the prem is where he should be. Do you really think that your last sentence is a fair reflection on why the players I have mentioned left Brighton? Had they been refused a transfer then they certainly would have been unhappy.

With the exception of Ulloa, and possibly Upson, the players who left will be making up the squad numbers at the clubs they have joined. Bridcutt and Buckley were on the bench for Sunderland on Saturday.

Judging by Hyppia's comments in the Argus, Buckley had no interest in staying with Brighton.

No doubt our wage structure played a massive part but players don't seem too keen to come here either (note Clayton and Ward).

The fact that first Gus, then Oscar, left because they felt the club had reached a ceiling in terms of its ambition tells you all you need to know. Unfortunately, what often happens when a manager leaves a club is that a number of players are keen to go with him and dissatisfaction sets in.

Let's see how the new boys respond to Hyppia's coaching. This club is on a dangerous downward spiral right now and make no mistake, it's going to take an exceptional job by Sami and the Board to get it headed back in the right direction.

[quote][p][bold]VegasSeagull[/bold] wrote:
[quote][p][bold]heshootshescores[/bold] wrote:
[quote][p][bold]oldsolariun[/bold] wrote:
Quality is the answer ,not loans journeymen and poor freebies...
Bournemouth sold prolific striker Lewis Grabban but Eddie Howe has
invested in quality rather than quantity with free transfers Dan Gosling (Newcastle) and Junior Stanislas (Burnley) plus big-money signing Callum Wilson (Coventry) who cost in excess of £2million .....
Already SIX points and FIVE goal ahead of the Albion ....[/p][/quote]Post of the week...and it's only Monday! Bournemouth don't have half the potential or support we do but they're punching well above their weight. Shrewd chairman and smart manager.
I said a long time ago that Eddie Howe was the guy we should be targeting. Hyppia isn't being given a chance to succeed right now. Too many changes in personnel and no clear plan or direction. Just a lot of unhappy players who couldn't wait to leave the club.[/p][/quote]Change your last sentense to, couldn't wait to play prem level football, and I feel you would be more accurate. Upson, Buckley, Ulloa and TK left, 'thinking,' he would get a prem contract, he said that the prem is where he should be. Do you really think that your last sentence is a fair reflection on why the players I have mentioned left Brighton? Had they been refused a transfer then they certainly would have been unhappy.[/p][/quote]With the exception of Ulloa, and possibly Upson, the players who left will be making up the squad numbers at the clubs they have joined. Bridcutt and Buckley were on the bench for Sunderland on Saturday.
Judging by Hyppia's comments in the Argus, Buckley had no interest in staying with Brighton.
No doubt our wage structure played a massive part but players don't seem too keen to come here either (note Clayton and Ward).
The fact that first Gus, then Oscar, left because they felt the club had reached a ceiling in terms of its ambition tells you all you need to know. Unfortunately, what often happens when a manager leaves a club is that a number of players are keen to go with him and dissatisfaction sets in.
Let's see how the new boys respond to Hyppia's coaching. This club is on a dangerous downward spiral right now and make no mistake, it's going to take an exceptional job by Sami and the Board to get it headed back in the right direction.heshootshescores

VegasSeagull wrote:
Given that Brighton are certainly three players short, and some might say we need as many as five, I think Bloom might have done well to pick out the closing of the loan window as the time when our gaps will have been plugged, rather than the closing of the buy or sell window.

Hyypia needs another striker, and so do other managers in our division, so if we are looking to buy rather than borrow, we could be talking some big numbers to ensure we win any bidding war that may occur. Brighton have not shown any appetite to spend big, and if that continues, then it seems that our striker will be a loan deal. We could do yet another loan deal with Liverpool, their 21 year old Adorjan is still considered an exciting prospect.

The left back position has beem filled, in recent times, by loanees and again if a decent player were to become available we could also be in a bidding war, so just as the last two seasons have shown, this could be another loanee.

With Buckley gone I guess we will be looking for a replacement, another loanee? This is one position where I would not be surprised if we buy rather than borrow. Other clubs in our division, for the most part, seem to have filled their needs in this area of the park, and we have the money to compete for a signature if we are not trying to fight off a club with parachute payments.

Hi Vegas.
I think most people on this site recognise that we need a minimum of 3 more new signings. These being at least one quality striker to fill the void left by Ulloa's departure, a LB since Ward is not returning and now a winger to replace Buckley.
To that list I always wanted (and would still favour) a second striker. I think COG is an OK support striker someone useful to bring on when one wants a little physicality up front. This is why I thought the club bought him.
I also think it will take a bit more time for CMS to get back to his best. It always takes players time to fully get over the type of injury CMS had and the reality is that apart from 2 or 3 brief appearances off the bench at the end of last season he hasn't had much game time and has only started once in the last 18 months.
So at this stage I view COG and CMS as squad members rather than starters.
Even before Buckley left I sensed/thought we were looking for another wide player and as a result I am half expecting the Albion to acquire 2 wingers. LuaLua is best used it appears as an impact sub and March is being groomed as an attacking midfielder **** winger. Therefore it seems logical for BHA to recruit 2 wingers to play close to the main striker.
I have found it interesting that Hyypia has strengthen the midfield.
Once the most urgent holes had been filled ie GK (Stockdale), CB (Hughes) and a striker (COG) had been brought in, SH then turned to remedy the lack of creativity in midfield by signing Teixeira and Holla.
I know on paper we have 8 midfielders but personally I discount Agustien (useless for us so far) and we have no indication when Stephens will be back. I also feel that Crofts like CMS will take awhile to return to his best.
Therefore IMO it might be quite beneficial if we signed McCourt as well, perhaps on a short term contract as we did initially with Bridcutt.
Finally re our shopping list Vegas I think I am right in saying that you have posted a couple of weeks ago that we should add another CB to the mix - correct me if I am wrong. I think this thought of yours is certainly worthy of consideration. However it is possible that SH might consider that either Rea or Peppoe (?) from the DS squad have the potential to move up to the main squad. I am surprised to see that neither of them are playing for the DS against Blackburn tonight.
So whilst 3 new players is a minimum requirement I would hope that at least 5 more players are acquired which could conceivably rise to 7 if you add McCourt and another CB although the last 2 are most unlikely.
The next 2 weeks should be most interesting and unless DB and the recruitment side really upset the apple cart I anticipate welcoming some more quality targets to the Amex.
Onwards and Upwards with SH especially in respect of new signings.

[quote][p][bold]VegasSeagull[/bold] wrote:
Given that Brighton are certainly three players short, and some might say we need as many as five, I think Bloom might have done well to pick out the closing of the loan window as the time when our gaps will have been plugged, rather than the closing of the buy or sell window.
Hyypia needs another striker, and so do other managers in our division, so if we are looking to buy rather than borrow, we could be talking some big numbers to ensure we win any bidding war that may occur. Brighton have not shown any appetite to spend big, and if that continues, then it seems that our striker will be a loan deal. We could do yet another loan deal with Liverpool, their 21 year old Adorjan is still considered an exciting prospect.
The left back position has beem filled, in recent times, by loanees and again if a decent player were to become available we could also be in a bidding war, so just as the last two seasons have shown, this could be another loanee.
With Buckley gone I guess we will be looking for a replacement, another loanee? This is one position where I would not be surprised if we buy rather than borrow. Other clubs in our division, for the most part, seem to have filled their needs in this area of the park, and we have the money to compete for a signature if we are not trying to fight off a club with parachute payments.[/p][/quote]Hi Vegas.
I think most people on this site recognise that we need a minimum of 3 more new signings. These being at least one quality striker to fill the void left by Ulloa's departure, a LB since Ward is not returning and now a winger to replace Buckley.
To that list I always wanted (and would still favour) a second striker. I think COG is an OK support striker someone useful to bring on when one wants a little physicality up front. This is why I thought the club bought him.
I also think it will take a bit more time for CMS to get back to his best. It always takes players time to fully get over the type of injury CMS had and the reality is that apart from 2 or 3 brief appearances off the bench at the end of last season he hasn't had much game time and has only started once in the last 18 months.
So at this stage I view COG and CMS as squad members rather than starters.
Even before Buckley left I sensed/thought we were looking for another wide player and as a result I am half expecting the Albion to acquire 2 wingers. LuaLua is best used it appears as an impact sub and March is being groomed as an attacking midfielder **** winger. Therefore it seems logical for BHA to recruit 2 wingers to play close to the main striker.
I have found it interesting that Hyypia has strengthen the midfield.
Once the most urgent holes had been filled ie GK (Stockdale), CB (Hughes) and a striker (COG) had been brought in, SH then turned to remedy the lack of creativity in midfield by signing Teixeira and Holla.
I know on paper we have 8 midfielders but personally I discount Agustien (useless for us so far) and we have no indication when Stephens will be back. I also feel that Crofts like CMS will take awhile to return to his best.
Therefore IMO it might be quite beneficial if we signed McCourt as well, perhaps on a short term contract as we did initially with Bridcutt.
Finally re our shopping list Vegas I think I am right in saying that you have posted a couple of weeks ago that we should add another CB to the mix - correct me if I am wrong. I think this thought of yours is certainly worthy of consideration. However it is possible that SH might consider that either Rea or Peppoe (?) from the DS squad have the potential to move up to the main squad. I am surprised to see that neither of them are playing for the DS against Blackburn tonight.
So whilst 3 new players is a minimum requirement I would hope that at least 5 more players are acquired which could conceivably rise to 7 if you add McCourt and another CB although the last 2 are most unlikely.
The next 2 weeks should be most interesting and unless DB and the recruitment side really upset the apple cart I anticipate welcoming some more quality targets to the Amex.
Onwards and Upwards with SH especially in respect of new signings.ballantrrae

SiWilki wrote:
Agustien should be loaned out to get some more funds in, plus get his fitness up, then if at end of season no improvement released.

Fortunately Agustien only has a 2 year contract which is still too long IMO.

[quote][p][bold]SiWilki[/bold] wrote:
Agustien should be loaned out to get some more funds in, plus get his fitness up, then if at end of season no improvement released.[/p][/quote]Fortunately Agustien only has a 2 year contract which is still too long IMO.ballantrrae

brighton777 wrote:
Apart from Stockdale are any of these signings our log term targets or just panic loans/buys.

If Stockdale was a measured piece of judgement then I'd prefer panic buying. Not impressed so far .

[quote][p][bold]brighton777[/bold] wrote:
Apart from Stockdale are any of these signings our log term targets or just panic loans/buys.[/p][/quote]If Stockdale was a measured piece of judgement then I'd prefer panic buying. Not impressed so far .namgo49

Someone told David Burke that Agustien was fast and dangerous, so he signed him on the spot.

But they forgot to add that it was when he was squeezed in behind the wheel of a sports car.

[quote][p][bold]gordongull[/bold] wrote:
[quote][p][bold]Ripe seagull.[/bold] wrote:
[quote][p][bold]Singing Seagull, Indonesia[/bold] wrote:
Taxi for Mr Agustien! UTA!![/p][/quote]He'll need one with all his points![/p][/quote]Someone told David Burke that Agustien was fast and dangerous, so he signed him on the spot.[/p][/quote]But they forgot to add that it was when he was squeezed in behind the wheel of a sports car.namgo49

Whilst it does appear we are well catered for in the midfield then you have to say it is with quantity not quality, viz:-

Toko - appears to be a mistake signing. Punt out on loan.
Agustein - definite mistake signing. Don't waste any more time, pay up his contract and let him leave
JFC - can't play the new system. Give him a bit more time to see if he can or send him out on loan again. Shame though, the club would have to do another photo shoot of the "One club, one ambition"' , not sure they could afford it!!
Ince - struggling with his game within the system. May need a loan spell.
Lualua - impact sub only. Consistently has a rubbish game if he starts.
March - May be out the door if the rumour mill is correct
Holla - let's hope he is fit and capable
The lad from Liverpool - as for Holla.
Crofts - back on Saturday, thank goodness
Stephens - let's hope he is fit soon.

So the midfield is not that well catered for. People go on about strikers and we are short, but goals result from service from midfield and it is just not there at the moment. CMS has not missed a chance he has just not had any service. COG has missed a couple but as a pairing I think they can be effective. I am not sure Hyypia wants a big target man. He did not have one at BL with the system he plays, hence his pursuit, maybe, of the likes of Baldock.

Sharp would have been a good signing but he is a Yorkshire boy and many of them struggle living outside the County. Pretty sure too our wages cap would fall well short of his expectations.

We need someone like that though, confident to the point of arrogance, nippy and predatory. Not too many around though!!

Whilst it does appear we are well catered for in the midfield then you have to say it is with quantity not quality, viz:-
Toko - appears to be a mistake signing. Punt out on loan.
Agustein - definite mistake signing. Don't waste any more time, pay up his contract and let him leave
JFC - can't play the new system. Give him a bit more time to see if he can or send him out on loan again. Shame though, the club would have to do another photo shoot of the "One club, one ambition"' , not sure they could afford it!!
Ince - struggling with his game within the system. May need a loan spell.
Lualua - impact sub only. Consistently has a rubbish game if he starts.
March - May be out the door if the rumour mill is correct
Holla - let's hope he is fit and capable
The lad from Liverpool - as for Holla.
Crofts - back on Saturday, thank goodness
Stephens - let's hope he is fit soon.
So the midfield is not that well catered for. People go on about strikers and we are short, but goals result from service from midfield and it is just not there at the moment. CMS has not missed a chance he has just not had any service. COG has missed a couple but as a pairing I think they can be effective. I am not sure Hyypia wants a big target man. He did not have one at BL with the system he plays, hence his pursuit, maybe, of the likes of Baldock.
Sharp would have been a good signing but he is a Yorkshire boy and many of them struggle living outside the County. Pretty sure too our wages cap would fall well short of his expectations.
We need someone like that though, confident to the point of arrogance, nippy and predatory. Not too many around though!!namgo49

namgo49 wrote:
Whilst it does appear we are well catered for in the midfield then you have to say it is with quantity not quality, viz:-

Toko - appears to be a mistake signing. Punt out on loan.
Agustein - definite mistake signing. Don't waste any more time, pay up his contract and let him leave
JFC - can't play the new system. Give him a bit more time to see if he can or send him out on loan again. Shame though, the club would have to do another photo shoot of the &quot;One club, one ambition"' , not sure they could afford it!!
Ince - struggling with his game within the system. May need a loan spell.
Lualua - impact sub only. Consistently has a rubbish game if he starts.
March - May be out the door if the rumour mill is correct
Holla - let's hope he is fit and capable
The lad from Liverpool - as for Holla.
Crofts - back on Saturday, thank goodness
Stephens - let's hope he is fit soon.

So the midfield is not that well catered for. People go on about strikers and we are short, but goals result from service from midfield and it is just not there at the moment. CMS has not missed a chance he has just not had any service. COG has missed a couple but as a pairing I think they can be effective. I am not sure Hyypia wants a big target man. He did not have one at BL with the system he plays, hence his pursuit, maybe, of the likes of Baldock.

Sharp would have been a good signing but he is a Yorkshire boy and many of them struggle living outside the County. Pretty sure too our wages cap would fall well short of his expectations.

We need someone like that though, confident to the point of arrogance, nippy and predatory. Not too many around though!!

Confident, nippy and predatory? We could have done a lot worse than Leroy Lita. He's got more league goals this season than our whole team put together! Think Barnsley may have got the better of the COG deal!

[quote][p][bold]namgo49[/bold] wrote:
Whilst it does appear we are well catered for in the midfield then you have to say it is with quantity not quality, viz:-
Toko - appears to be a mistake signing. Punt out on loan.
Agustein - definite mistake signing. Don't waste any more time, pay up his contract and let him leave
JFC - can't play the new system. Give him a bit more time to see if he can or send him out on loan again. Shame though, the club would have to do another photo shoot of the "One club, one ambition"' , not sure they could afford it!!
Ince - struggling with his game within the system. May need a loan spell.
Lualua - impact sub only. Consistently has a rubbish game if he starts.
March - May be out the door if the rumour mill is correct
Holla - let's hope he is fit and capable
The lad from Liverpool - as for Holla.
Crofts - back on Saturday, thank goodness
Stephens - let's hope he is fit soon.
So the midfield is not that well catered for. People go on about strikers and we are short, but goals result from service from midfield and it is just not there at the moment. CMS has not missed a chance he has just not had any service. COG has missed a couple but as a pairing I think they can be effective. I am not sure Hyypia wants a big target man. He did not have one at BL with the system he plays, hence his pursuit, maybe, of the likes of Baldock.
Sharp would have been a good signing but he is a Yorkshire boy and many of them struggle living outside the County. Pretty sure too our wages cap would fall well short of his expectations.
We need someone like that though, confident to the point of arrogance, nippy and predatory. Not too many around though!![/p][/quote]Confident, nippy and predatory? We could have done a lot worse than Leroy Lita. He's got more league goals this season than our whole team put together! Think Barnsley may have got the better of the COG deal!Quiterie

VegasSeagull wrote:
Given that Brighton are certainly three players short, and some might say we need as many as five, I think Bloom might have done well to pick out the closing of the loan window as the time when our gaps will have been plugged, rather than the closing of the buy or sell window.

Hyypia needs another striker, and so do other managers in our division, so if we are looking to buy rather than borrow, we could be talking some big numbers to ensure we win any bidding war that may occur. Brighton have not shown any appetite to spend big, and if that continues, then it seems that our striker will be a loan deal. We could do yet another loan deal with Liverpool, their 21 year old Adorjan is still considered an exciting prospect.

The left back position has beem filled, in recent times, by loanees and again if a decent player were to become available we could also be in a bidding war, so just as the last two seasons have shown, this could be another loanee.

With Buckley gone I guess we will be looking for a replacement, another loanee? This is one position where I would not be surprised if we buy rather than borrow. Other clubs in our division, for the most part, seem to have filled their needs in this area of the park, and we have the money to compete for a signature if we are not trying to fight off a club with parachute payments.

Hi Vegas.
I think most people on this site recognise that we need a minimum of 3 more new signings. These being at least one quality striker to fill the void left by Ulloa's departure, a LB since Ward is not returning and now a winger to replace Buckley.
To that list I always wanted (and would still favour) a second striker. I think COG is an OK support striker someone useful to bring on when one wants a little physicality up front. This is why I thought the club bought him.
I also think it will take a bit more time for CMS to get back to his best. It always takes players time to fully get over the type of injury CMS had and the reality is that apart from 2 or 3 brief appearances off the bench at the end of last season he hasn't had much game time and has only started once in the last 18 months.
So at this stage I view COG and CMS as squad members rather than starters.
Even before Buckley left I sensed/thought we were looking for another wide player and as a result I am half expecting the Albion to acquire 2 wingers. LuaLua is best used it appears as an impact sub and March is being groomed as an attacking midfielder **** winger. Therefore it seems logical for BHA to recruit 2 wingers to play close to the main striker.
I have found it interesting that Hyypia has strengthen the midfield.
Once the most urgent holes had been filled ie GK (Stockdale), CB (Hughes) and a striker (COG) had been brought in, SH then turned to remedy the lack of creativity in midfield by signing Teixeira and Holla.
I know on paper we have 8 midfielders but personally I discount Agustien (useless for us so far) and we have no indication when Stephens will be back. I also feel that Crofts like CMS will take awhile to return to his best.
Therefore IMO it might be quite beneficial if we signed McCourt as well, perhaps on a short term contract as we did initially with Bridcutt.
Finally re our shopping list Vegas I think I am right in saying that you have posted a couple of weeks ago that we should add another CB to the mix - correct me if I am wrong. I think this thought of yours is certainly worthy of consideration. However it is possible that SH might consider that either Rea or Peppoe (?) from the DS squad have the potential to move up to the main squad. I am surprised to see that neither of them are playing for the DS against Blackburn tonight.
So whilst 3 new players is a minimum requirement I would hope that at least 5 more players are acquired which could conceivably rise to 7 if you add McCourt and another CB although the last 2 are most unlikely.
The next 2 weeks should be most interesting and unless DB and the recruitment side really upset the apple cart I anticipate welcoming some more quality targets to the Amex.
Onwards and Upwards with SH especially in respect of new signings.

I think we can accept selling players, but the Barnes, Conway Grabban , ward issues are the things that are rubbing fans in the wrong direction,
In my opinion Burke is not up to getting the deals done, had we signed those 3 and kept Barnes we would have spent nothing much and have a decent attack . Poor management

[quote][p][bold]ballantrrae[/bold] wrote:
[quote][p][bold]VegasSeagull[/bold] wrote:
Given that Brighton are certainly three players short, and some might say we need as many as five, I think Bloom might have done well to pick out the closing of the loan window as the time when our gaps will have been plugged, rather than the closing of the buy or sell window.
Hyypia needs another striker, and so do other managers in our division, so if we are looking to buy rather than borrow, we could be talking some big numbers to ensure we win any bidding war that may occur. Brighton have not shown any appetite to spend big, and if that continues, then it seems that our striker will be a loan deal. We could do yet another loan deal with Liverpool, their 21 year old Adorjan is still considered an exciting prospect.
The left back position has beem filled, in recent times, by loanees and again if a decent player were to become available we could also be in a bidding war, so just as the last two seasons have shown, this could be another loanee.
With Buckley gone I guess we will be looking for a replacement, another loanee? This is one position where I would not be surprised if we buy rather than borrow. Other clubs in our division, for the most part, seem to have filled their needs in this area of the park, and we have the money to compete for a signature if we are not trying to fight off a club with parachute payments.[/p][/quote]Hi Vegas.
I think most people on this site recognise that we need a minimum of 3 more new signings. These being at least one quality striker to fill the void left by Ulloa's departure, a LB since Ward is not returning and now a winger to replace Buckley.
To that list I always wanted (and would still favour) a second striker. I think COG is an OK support striker someone useful to bring on when one wants a little physicality up front. This is why I thought the club bought him.
I also think it will take a bit more time for CMS to get back to his best. It always takes players time to fully get over the type of injury CMS had and the reality is that apart from 2 or 3 brief appearances off the bench at the end of last season he hasn't had much game time and has only started once in the last 18 months.
So at this stage I view COG and CMS as squad members rather than starters.
Even before Buckley left I sensed/thought we were looking for another wide player and as a result I am half expecting the Albion to acquire 2 wingers. LuaLua is best used it appears as an impact sub and March is being groomed as an attacking midfielder **** winger. Therefore it seems logical for BHA to recruit 2 wingers to play close to the main striker.
I have found it interesting that Hyypia has strengthen the midfield.
Once the most urgent holes had been filled ie GK (Stockdale), CB (Hughes) and a striker (COG) had been brought in, SH then turned to remedy the lack of creativity in midfield by signing Teixeira and Holla.
I know on paper we have 8 midfielders but personally I discount Agustien (useless for us so far) and we have no indication when Stephens will be back. I also feel that Crofts like CMS will take awhile to return to his best.
Therefore IMO it might be quite beneficial if we signed McCourt as well, perhaps on a short term contract as we did initially with Bridcutt.
Finally re our shopping list Vegas I think I am right in saying that you have posted a couple of weeks ago that we should add another CB to the mix - correct me if I am wrong. I think this thought of yours is certainly worthy of consideration. However it is possible that SH might consider that either Rea or Peppoe (?) from the DS squad have the potential to move up to the main squad. I am surprised to see that neither of them are playing for the DS against Blackburn tonight.
So whilst 3 new players is a minimum requirement I would hope that at least 5 more players are acquired which could conceivably rise to 7 if you add McCourt and another CB although the last 2 are most unlikely.
The next 2 weeks should be most interesting and unless DB and the recruitment side really upset the apple cart I anticipate welcoming some more quality targets to the Amex.
Onwards and Upwards with SH especially in respect of new signings.[/p][/quote]I think we can accept selling players, but the Barnes, Conway Grabban , ward issues are the things that are rubbing fans in the wrong direction,
In my opinion Burke is not up to getting the deals done, had we signed those 3 and kept Barnes we would have spent nothing much and have a decent attack . Poor managementmark by the sea

Lots and lots or repetiive comments. The trolls are doing what trolls do, the WUMs not so much today, but maybe some have forgotten their multiple passwords for their multiple user names. The pesimists among us are continuing to be pesimistic, but that's a DNA issue which can't be resolved.
Time for a new signing to be announced, we will still get similar comments but at least we will have a new name for some to complain about.

Lots and lots or repetiive comments. The trolls are doing what trolls do, the WUMs not so much today, but maybe some have forgotten their multiple passwords for their multiple user names. The pesimists among us are continuing to be pesimistic, but that's a DNA issue which can't be resolved.
Time for a new signing to be announced, we will still get similar comments but at least we will have a new name for some to complain about.VegasSeagull

VegasSeagull wrote:
Given that Brighton are certainly three players short, and some might say we need as many as five, I think Bloom might have done well to pick out the closing of the loan window as the time when our gaps will have been plugged, rather than the closing of the buy or sell window.

Hyypia needs another striker, and so do other managers in our division, so if we are looking to buy rather than borrow, we could be talking some big numbers to ensure we win any bidding war that may occur. Brighton have not shown any appetite to spend big, and if that continues, then it seems that our striker will be a loan deal. We could do yet another loan deal with Liverpool, their 21 year old Adorjan is still considered an exciting prospect.

The left back position has beem filled, in recent times, by loanees and again if a decent player were to become available we could also be in a bidding war, so just as the last two seasons have shown, this could be another loanee.

With Buckley gone I guess we will be looking for a replacement, another loanee? This is one position where I would not be surprised if we buy rather than borrow. Other clubs in our division, for the most part, seem to have filled their needs in this area of the park, and we have the money to compete for a signature if we are not trying to fight off a club with parachute payments.

Hi Vegas.
I think most people on this site recognise that we need a minimum of 3 more new signings. These being at least one quality striker to fill the void left by Ulloa's departure, a LB since Ward is not returning and now a winger to replace Buckley.
To that list I always wanted (and would still favour) a second striker. I think COG is an OK support striker someone useful to bring on when one wants a little physicality up front. This is why I thought the club bought him.
I also think it will take a bit more time for CMS to get back to his best. It always takes players time to fully get over the type of injury CMS had and the reality is that apart from 2 or 3 brief appearances off the bench at the end of last season he hasn't had much game time and has only started once in the last 18 months.
So at this stage I view COG and CMS as squad members rather than starters.
Even before Buckley left I sensed/thought we were looking for another wide player and as a result I am half expecting the Albion to acquire 2 wingers. LuaLua is best used it appears as an impact sub and March is being groomed as an attacking midfielder **** winger. Therefore it seems logical for BHA to recruit 2 wingers to play close to the main striker.
I have found it interesting that Hyypia has strengthen the midfield.
Once the most urgent holes had been filled ie GK (Stockdale), CB (Hughes) and a striker (COG) had been brought in, SH then turned to remedy the lack of creativity in midfield by signing Teixeira and Holla.
I know on paper we have 8 midfielders but personally I discount Agustien (useless for us so far) and we have no indication when Stephens will be back. I also feel that Crofts like CMS will take awhile to return to his best.
Therefore IMO it might be quite beneficial if we signed McCourt as well, perhaps on a short term contract as we did initially with Bridcutt.
Finally re our shopping list Vegas I think I am right in saying that you have posted a couple of weeks ago that we should add another CB to the mix - correct me if I am wrong. I think this thought of yours is certainly worthy of consideration. However it is possible that SH might consider that either Rea or Peppoe (?) from the DS squad have the potential to move up to the main squad. I am surprised to see that neither of them are playing for the DS against Blackburn tonight.
So whilst 3 new players is a minimum requirement I would hope that at least 5 more players are acquired which could conceivably rise to 7 if you add McCourt and another CB although the last 2 are most unlikely.
The next 2 weeks should be most interesting and unless DB and the recruitment side really upset the apple cart I anticipate welcoming some more quality targets to the Amex.
Onwards and Upwards with SH especially in respect of new signings.

High Ballantrrae.
I think we must extend Bloom's dealine to take us to the close of the loan window, and I onlt say that due to the slow pace of new arrivals that we have seen so far.
Man City seem to be the latest club to be sending a few players out of the exit door, I doubt that there will be any pickings for us tho, wage caps and all that.
Yep I still quite like the idea of getting an extra CB but perhaps we other other more pressing requirements. I am still of the opinion that we have embarked on a two season rebuild, mid to upper mid table finish this season. Too much time was lost prior to Garcia arriving and the same for Hyypia, so much squad building work fell by the wayside over that period and now we need to catch up, and I don't see that happening in just one season.

[quote][p][bold]ballantrrae[/bold] wrote:
[quote][p][bold]VegasSeagull[/bold] wrote:
Given that Brighton are certainly three players short, and some might say we need as many as five, I think Bloom might have done well to pick out the closing of the loan window as the time when our gaps will have been plugged, rather than the closing of the buy or sell window.
Hyypia needs another striker, and so do other managers in our division, so if we are looking to buy rather than borrow, we could be talking some big numbers to ensure we win any bidding war that may occur. Brighton have not shown any appetite to spend big, and if that continues, then it seems that our striker will be a loan deal. We could do yet another loan deal with Liverpool, their 21 year old Adorjan is still considered an exciting prospect.
The left back position has beem filled, in recent times, by loanees and again if a decent player were to become available we could also be in a bidding war, so just as the last two seasons have shown, this could be another loanee.
With Buckley gone I guess we will be looking for a replacement, another loanee? This is one position where I would not be surprised if we buy rather than borrow. Other clubs in our division, for the most part, seem to have filled their needs in this area of the park, and we have the money to compete for a signature if we are not trying to fight off a club with parachute payments.[/p][/quote]Hi Vegas.
I think most people on this site recognise that we need a minimum of 3 more new signings. These being at least one quality striker to fill the void left by Ulloa's departure, a LB since Ward is not returning and now a winger to replace Buckley.
To that list I always wanted (and would still favour) a second striker. I think COG is an OK support striker someone useful to bring on when one wants a little physicality up front. This is why I thought the club bought him.
I also think it will take a bit more time for CMS to get back to his best. It always takes players time to fully get over the type of injury CMS had and the reality is that apart from 2 or 3 brief appearances off the bench at the end of last season he hasn't had much game time and has only started once in the last 18 months.
So at this stage I view COG and CMS as squad members rather than starters.
Even before Buckley left I sensed/thought we were looking for another wide player and as a result I am half expecting the Albion to acquire 2 wingers. LuaLua is best used it appears as an impact sub and March is being groomed as an attacking midfielder **** winger. Therefore it seems logical for BHA to recruit 2 wingers to play close to the main striker.
I have found it interesting that Hyypia has strengthen the midfield.
Once the most urgent holes had been filled ie GK (Stockdale), CB (Hughes) and a striker (COG) had been brought in, SH then turned to remedy the lack of creativity in midfield by signing Teixeira and Holla.
I know on paper we have 8 midfielders but personally I discount Agustien (useless for us so far) and we have no indication when Stephens will be back. I also feel that Crofts like CMS will take awhile to return to his best.
Therefore IMO it might be quite beneficial if we signed McCourt as well, perhaps on a short term contract as we did initially with Bridcutt.
Finally re our shopping list Vegas I think I am right in saying that you have posted a couple of weeks ago that we should add another CB to the mix - correct me if I am wrong. I think this thought of yours is certainly worthy of consideration. However it is possible that SH might consider that either Rea or Peppoe (?) from the DS squad have the potential to move up to the main squad. I am surprised to see that neither of them are playing for the DS against Blackburn tonight.
So whilst 3 new players is a minimum requirement I would hope that at least 5 more players are acquired which could conceivably rise to 7 if you add McCourt and another CB although the last 2 are most unlikely.
The next 2 weeks should be most interesting and unless DB and the recruitment side really upset the apple cart I anticipate welcoming some more quality targets to the Amex.
Onwards and Upwards with SH especially in respect of new signings.[/p][/quote]High Ballantrrae.
I think we must extend Bloom's dealine to take us to the close of the loan window, and I onlt say that due to the slow pace of new arrivals that we have seen so far.
Man City seem to be the latest club to be sending a few players out of the exit door, I doubt that there will be any pickings for us tho, wage caps and all that.
Yep I still quite like the idea of getting an extra CB but perhaps we other other more pressing requirements. I am still of the opinion that we have embarked on a two season rebuild, mid to upper mid table finish this season. Too much time was lost prior to Garcia arriving and the same for Hyypia, so much squad building work fell by the wayside over that period and now we need to catch up, and I don't see that happening in just one season.VegasSeagull

VegasSeagull wrote:
Lots and lots or repetiive comments. The trolls are doing what trolls do, the WUMs not so much today, but maybe some have forgotten their multiple passwords for their multiple user names. The pesimists among us are continuing to be pesimistic, but that's a DNA issue which can't be resolved.
Time for a new signing to be announced, we will still get similar comments but at least we will have a new name for some to complain about.

100% mug.

Thinks its so superior but cant see its a mugs game.

[quote][p][bold]VegasSeagull[/bold] wrote:
Lots and lots or repetiive comments. The trolls are doing what trolls do, the WUMs not so much today, but maybe some have forgotten their multiple passwords for their multiple user names. The pesimists among us are continuing to be pesimistic, but that's a DNA issue which can't be resolved.
Time for a new signing to be announced, we will still get similar comments but at least we will have a new name for some to complain about.[/p][/quote]100% mug.
Thinks its so superior but cant see its a mugs game.ringtone

VegasSeagull wrote:
Lots and lots or repetiive comments. The trolls are doing what trolls do, the WUMs not so much today, but maybe some have forgotten their multiple passwords for their multiple user names. The pesimists among us are continuing to be pesimistic, but that's a DNA issue which can't be resolved.
Time for a new signing to be announced, we will still get similar comments but at least we will have a new name for some to complain about.

Grow up Vegas you sad little man.You don't own this site,and you don't even pay to watch the club.

[quote][p][bold]VegasSeagull[/bold] wrote:
Lots and lots or repetiive comments. The trolls are doing what trolls do, the WUMs not so much today, but maybe some have forgotten their multiple passwords for their multiple user names. The pesimists among us are continuing to be pesimistic, but that's a DNA issue which can't be resolved.
Time for a new signing to be announced, we will still get similar comments but at least we will have a new name for some to complain about.[/p][/quote]Grow up Vegas you sad little man.You don't own this site,and you don't even pay to watch the club.Please wake up

Palace about to get a real manager again Tim Sherwood.We get a vile YES man with no friends in the game for his number 2 lol.Lets be honest this vile YES man is not picking these players.

Palace about to get a real manager again Tim Sherwood.We get a vile YES man with no friends in the game for his number 2 lol.Lets be honest this vile YES man is not picking these players.Please wake up

VegasSeagull wrote:
Vile, adjective. Morally disgusting, miserable, and unpleasant. Now who does that remind you of?

Errm, would it be singing seagull Indonesia?

[quote][p][bold]VegasSeagull[/bold] wrote:
Vile, adjective. Morally disgusting, miserable, and unpleasant. Now who does that remind you of?[/p][/quote]Errm, would it be singing seagull Indonesia?Mayfield sweeper

I am critical of the summer activity. I am critical of the summer strategy and critical of the communications' policy which appears non-existent. But i will not engage with idiots who think this is a nursery playground.
I'd love it if one of the infantile loudmouths were cited for libel. It won't happen , but you don't know how close you're treading...

I am critical of the summer activity. I am critical of the summer strategy and critical of the communications' policy which appears non-existent. But i will not engage with idiots who think this is a nursery playground.
I'd love it if one of the infantile loudmouths were cited for libel. It won't happen , but you don't know how close you're treading...Albion In Staffs

I'm not expecting much from a guy who has only played for small dutch teams but you never know. I think if we're going to take punts because we no longer have the dollar, why aren't we in for Luke James? He can't cost much at his age from Hartlepool can he? And hey Tony, in couple of years you might be able to get twice his real value out of Leicester! Or half his real value out of Sunderland at least!

I'm not expecting much from a guy who has only played for small dutch teams but you never know. I think if we're going to take punts because we no longer have the dollar, why aren't we in for Luke James? He can't cost much at his age from Hartlepool can he? And hey Tony, in couple of years you might be able to get twice his real value out of Leicester! Or half his real value out of Sunderland at least!The Balding Seagull

VegasSeagull wrote:
Given that Brighton are certainly three players short, and some might say we need as many as five, I think Bloom might have done well to pick out the closing of the loan window as the time when our gaps will have been plugged, rather than the closing of the buy or sell window.

Hyypia needs another striker, and so do other managers in our division, so if we are looking to buy rather than borrow, we could be talking some big numbers to ensure we win any bidding war that may occur. Brighton have not shown any appetite to spend big, and if that continues, then it seems that our striker will be a loan deal. We could do yet another loan deal with Liverpool, their 21 year old Adorjan is still considered an exciting prospect.

The left back position has beem filled, in recent times, by loanees and again if a decent player were to become available we could also be in a bidding war, so just as the last two seasons have shown, this could be another loanee.

With Buckley gone I guess we will be looking for a replacement, another loanee? This is one position where I would not be surprised if we buy rather than borrow. Other clubs in our division, for the most part, seem to have filled their needs in this area of the park, and we have the money to compete for a signature if we are not trying to fight off a club with parachute payments.

Hi Vegas.
I think most people on this site recognise that we need a minimum of 3 more new signings. These being at least one quality striker to fill the void left by Ulloa's departure, a LB since Ward is not returning and now a winger to replace Buckley.
To that list I always wanted (and would still favour) a second striker. I think COG is an OK support striker someone useful to bring on when one wants a little physicality up front. This is why I thought the club bought him.
I also think it will take a bit more time for CMS to get back to his best. It always takes players time to fully get over the type of injury CMS had and the reality is that apart from 2 or 3 brief appearances off the bench at the end of last season he hasn't had much game time and has only started once in the last 18 months.
So at this stage I view COG and CMS as squad members rather than starters.
Even before Buckley left I sensed/thought we were looking for another wide player and as a result I am half expecting the Albion to acquire 2 wingers. LuaLua is best used it appears as an impact sub and March is being groomed as an attacking midfielder **** winger. Therefore it seems logical for BHA to recruit 2 wingers to play close to the main striker.
I have found it interesting that Hyypia has strengthen the midfield.
Once the most urgent holes had been filled ie GK (Stockdale), CB (Hughes) and a striker (COG) had been brought in, SH then turned to remedy the lack of creativity in midfield by signing Teixeira and Holla.
I know on paper we have 8 midfielders but personally I discount Agustien (useless for us so far) and we have no indication when Stephens will be back. I also feel that Crofts like CMS will take awhile to return to his best.
Therefore IMO it might be quite beneficial if we signed McCourt as well, perhaps on a short term contract as we did initially with Bridcutt.
Finally re our shopping list Vegas I think I am right in saying that you have posted a couple of weeks ago that we should add another CB to the mix - correct me if I am wrong. I think this thought of yours is certainly worthy of consideration. However it is possible that SH might consider that either Rea or Peppoe (?) from the DS squad have the potential to move up to the main squad. I am surprised to see that neither of them are playing for the DS against Blackburn tonight.
So whilst 3 new players is a minimum requirement I would hope that at least 5 more players are acquired which could conceivably rise to 7 if you add McCourt and another CB although the last 2 are most unlikely.
The next 2 weeks should be most interesting and unless DB and the recruitment side really upset the apple cart I anticipate welcoming some more quality targets to the Amex.
Onwards and Upwards with SH especially in respect of new signings.

I think we can accept selling players, but the Barnes, Conway Grabban , ward issues are the things that are rubbing fans in the wrong direction,
In my opinion Burke is not up to getting the deals done, had we signed those 3 and kept Barnes we would have spent nothing much and have a decent attack . Poor management

Mark BTS in the main I agree with you. Not sure about Barnes of whom I was a fan but I certainly agree that Conway who I became increasingly impressed by, Grabban and Wad would be really positive additions to our squad right now.
Bloom and BHA are obviously working hard to get the club's main targets in for SH in the next 13 days.
The potential (fatal ?) flaw in the current strategy might be that it could hinge/depend on Burke and his team. I say might since I think the jury is out at the moment with regards to whether DB & Co can deliver the signings that SH wants and needs.
Because of that potential weakness, I hope that both SH and TB take more of a hands on role with recruiting at least until the window closes. The more targets we can acquire on permanent or season long loan deals the better. As I have posted before I am not a fan of short term loans Mark, but I appreciate that we might be faced with going down that route for a couple of the players required.
Looking forward (hopefully) to a positive result against Leeds. UTA.

[quote][p][bold]mark by the sea[/bold] wrote:
[quote][p][bold]ballantrrae[/bold] wrote:
[quote][p][bold]VegasSeagull[/bold] wrote:
Given that Brighton are certainly three players short, and some might say we need as many as five, I think Bloom might have done well to pick out the closing of the loan window as the time when our gaps will have been plugged, rather than the closing of the buy or sell window.
Hyypia needs another striker, and so do other managers in our division, so if we are looking to buy rather than borrow, we could be talking some big numbers to ensure we win any bidding war that may occur. Brighton have not shown any appetite to spend big, and if that continues, then it seems that our striker will be a loan deal. We could do yet another loan deal with Liverpool, their 21 year old Adorjan is still considered an exciting prospect.
The left back position has beem filled, in recent times, by loanees and again if a decent player were to become available we could also be in a bidding war, so just as the last two seasons have shown, this could be another loanee.
With Buckley gone I guess we will be looking for a replacement, another loanee? This is one position where I would not be surprised if we buy rather than borrow. Other clubs in our division, for the most part, seem to have filled their needs in this area of the park, and we have the money to compete for a signature if we are not trying to fight off a club with parachute payments.[/p][/quote]Hi Vegas.
I think most people on this site recognise that we need a minimum of 3 more new signings. These being at least one quality striker to fill the void left by Ulloa's departure, a LB since Ward is not returning and now a winger to replace Buckley.
To that list I always wanted (and would still favour) a second striker. I think COG is an OK support striker someone useful to bring on when one wants a little physicality up front. This is why I thought the club bought him.
I also think it will take a bit more time for CMS to get back to his best. It always takes players time to fully get over the type of injury CMS had and the reality is that apart from 2 or 3 brief appearances off the bench at the end of last season he hasn't had much game time and has only started once in the last 18 months.
So at this stage I view COG and CMS as squad members rather than starters.
Even before Buckley left I sensed/thought we were looking for another wide player and as a result I am half expecting the Albion to acquire 2 wingers. LuaLua is best used it appears as an impact sub and March is being groomed as an attacking midfielder **** winger. Therefore it seems logical for BHA to recruit 2 wingers to play close to the main striker.
I have found it interesting that Hyypia has strengthen the midfield.
Once the most urgent holes had been filled ie GK (Stockdale), CB (Hughes) and a striker (COG) had been brought in, SH then turned to remedy the lack of creativity in midfield by signing Teixeira and Holla.
I know on paper we have 8 midfielders but personally I discount Agustien (useless for us so far) and we have no indication when Stephens will be back. I also feel that Crofts like CMS will take awhile to return to his best.
Therefore IMO it might be quite beneficial if we signed McCourt as well, perhaps on a short term contract as we did initially with Bridcutt.
Finally re our shopping list Vegas I think I am right in saying that you have posted a couple of weeks ago that we should add another CB to the mix - correct me if I am wrong. I think this thought of yours is certainly worthy of consideration. However it is possible that SH might consider that either Rea or Peppoe (?) from the DS squad have the potential to move up to the main squad. I am surprised to see that neither of them are playing for the DS against Blackburn tonight.
So whilst 3 new players is a minimum requirement I would hope that at least 5 more players are acquired which could conceivably rise to 7 if you add McCourt and another CB although the last 2 are most unlikely.
The next 2 weeks should be most interesting and unless DB and the recruitment side really upset the apple cart I anticipate welcoming some more quality targets to the Amex.
Onwards and Upwards with SH especially in respect of new signings.[/p][/quote]I think we can accept selling players, but the Barnes, Conway Grabban , ward issues are the things that are rubbing fans in the wrong direction,
In my opinion Burke is not up to getting the deals done, had we signed those 3 and kept Barnes we would have spent nothing much and have a decent attack . Poor management[/p][/quote]Mark BTS in the main I agree with you. Not sure about Barnes of whom I was a fan but I certainly agree that Conway who I became increasingly impressed by, Grabban and Wad would be really positive additions to our squad right now.
Bloom and BHA are obviously working hard to get the club's main targets in for SH in the next 13 days.
The potential (fatal ?) flaw in the current strategy might be that it could hinge/depend on Burke and his team. I say might since I think the jury is out at the moment with regards to whether DB & Co can deliver the signings that SH wants and needs.
Because of that potential weakness, I hope that both SH and TB take more of a hands on role with recruiting at least until the window closes. The more targets we can acquire on permanent or season long loan deals the better. As I have posted before I am not a fan of short term loans Mark, but I appreciate that we might be faced with going down that route for a couple of the players required.
Looking forward (hopefully) to a positive result against Leeds. UTA.ballantrrae